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Hyemoschus aquaticus

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CETARTIODACTYLA TRAGULIDAE

Scientific Name: Hyemoschus aquaticus
Species Authority: (Ogilby, 1841)
Common Name/s:
English – Water Chevrotain
French – Chevrotain Aquatique
Spanish – Antilope Amizclero Enano De Agua

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2008
Assessor/s: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group
Reviewer/s: Mallon, D.P. (Antelope Red List Authority) & Hoffmann, M. (Global Mammal Assessment)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
Listed as least Concern as the total population is estimated at some 280,000 animals. Although declining due to bushmeat hunting and habitat loss, this rate is not believed to be sufficient to warrant the listing of the species in a threatened category. However, if present trends continue, then the Water chevrotain’s status is likely to decline within the next few decades.
History:
2000 – Data Deficient

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Endemic to West and Central Africa, ranging across the forest belt from Sierra Leone and south-eastern Guinea, through Liberia, southern Côte d’Ivoire into south-west Ghana. Then ranges in southern Nigeria, east of the Niger River, through the central forest block, across southern Cameroon, Gabon, Cabinda (Angola), Congo and DR Congo to extreme western Uganda, where now believed extirpated (East 1999; Hart in press). A record from Angola's Lunda Norte Province, near the Cassai River, is the southernmost record of the species from the continent (Crawford-Cabral and Veríssimo 2005).
Countries:
Native:
Angola (Angola); Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Liberia; Nigeria; Sierra Leone
Regionally extinct:
Uganda
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: In the Ituri Forest, densities of 1.5-5.0/km²have been recorded (Hart in press). Higher densities (28/km²) have been reported in Gabon (Dubost 1978). East (1999) estimated the total population size at around 278,000 animals, with populations generally in decline.
Population Trend: Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Chevrotains are confined to closed-canopy, moist tropical lowland forest, and within this habitat, they only occupy areas in the vicinity of streams and rivers. However, the Water Chevrotain is not a swamp specialist, and often ranges in mature upland forest areas (Hart in press).
Systems: Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): The main threats to this species are habitat loss and bushmeat hunting. In the central Ituri Forest, chevrotains are regularly caught by the Mbuti net hunters, and consistently represent about five percent of total catch, even in areas that have been hunted for years (Hart in press).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Water Chevrotains occur in several protected areas, including: Sapo N. P. and Grebo National Forest (Liberia), Tai N. P. (Côte d’Ivoire), Lobeke N. P. (Cameroon), Lope N. P. and Minkebe N.P. (Gabon), Maiko N.P. Kahuzi-Biega N.P. and Okapi Faunal Reserve (DR Congo) and Odzala and Nouabale-Ndoki (Congo Republic) (East 1999).
Citation: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2008. Hyemoschus aquaticus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 June 2013.
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