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IN AFRICA 
duiker bok, meaning “diving buck” in Dutch. 
There are a dozen or more different species of 
duikers, and they may be found scattered all over 
South and East Africa. They are difficult to shoot, 
for their diving habits make them a fleeting target; 
also their size, about twenty or thirty pounds in 
weight, makes them a small target. 
Quite often the little duiker will hide in the 
grass until you have almost stepped on him, and 
then, if he considers discovery inevitable, he will 
spring away with his little huddled-up back rising 
and disappearing over the grass exactly as the 
porpoise does in the water. One day while we were 
beating some tall grass for lions, one of the porters 
stepped on a duiker, and its sharp horns, twisting 
suddenly, cut him on the ankle. The horns of the 
bucks are short and straight, from four to six inches 
long, but most often about four and a half inches. 
It would take an expert mathematician to keep 
track of all the different kinds of duikers, for 
there’s the crowned duiker, the yellow-backed 
duiker, the red duiker, Jentink’s duiker, Abbott’s 
duiker, the Ituri red duiker, the black-faced duiker, 
Alexander’s duiker, the Ruddy duiker, Weyn’s 
duiker, Johnston’s duiker, Isaac’s duiker, Harvey’s 
duiker, Roberts’ duiker, Leopold’s duiker, the 
white-bellied duiker, the bay duiker, the chestnut 
duiker, the white-lipped duiker, Ogilby’s duiker, 
Brooke’s duiker, Peter’s duiker, the red-flanked 
duiker, the banded duiker, Walker’s duiker, the 
white-faced duiker, the black duiker, Maxwell’s 
