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Species Name: Zanzibar Suni (Neotragus moschatus)
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Comparison with suni data may indicate a difference and evolutionary adaptation in the diet due to differences in food availability. Suni are steeped in Bovidae tradition. The Zanzibar suni is usually considered in light of the basal ruminants such as the chevrotains and even the primitive tragulids. Their ability to consume toxic plants may reflect an underlying physiological difference in their metabolism of secondary compounds.
Zanzibar suni (Neotragus moschatus) is the smallest forest antelope weighing 2-3 kg. They are about 35 cm high and their pale to rufous coat is similar to that of the East African suni. The Zanzibar suni inhabits the Zanzibar red colobus forest in the southwest of the Jozani-Pete reserve where they feed almost exclusively on leaves, some of which are toxic to other mammals. They seem to exhibit a browsing pattern distinct from other Tragulidae, and it would be of interest to study the digestive physiology in this light.
Small antelope with a head-and-body length of 300-330 mm for females and 290-300 mm for males, and a shoulder height of 130 mm for females and 120-128 mm for males. The hindquarters are slightly higher than the shoulders, with the result that the back slopes downward toward the rump. This is characterized as being similar to both the Tailless Tenrec and the common or black rat. The body is slender with a delicate head and a slightly shorter snout. Suni have large eyes and ears, and a distinct black pre-ocular or eye patch. The forehead is reddish-brown or russet in color, and the cheeks, neck, chest, and saddle are rich chestnut brown, contrasting with a deep miscellaneous or sometimes almost black coloration of the sides of the body and the legs. The legs and feet are usually the same color as the sides but have a slightly more reddish hue. Pure white suni are often spotted and mistaken for albino, but this is just a color phase of the suni with varying degrees of markings such as a white cheek, white socks, or a patch of white hair somewhere on the body. The abdominal and inguinal region are white.
Zanzibar sunis demonstrate a variety of behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations to their forest environment. These mirror those displayed by other suni species, but in some cases have assumed a very special form. Their favorite haunts are dense thickets where cover is most complete, and their entire way of life is essentially a strategy for coping with the problems of living in such a habitat. Dense cover is an effective protection from diurnal predators such as birds of prey and carnivorous mammals, giving quite security while at the same time allowing wariness. Def detection is an important requirement and sunis make little enough noise as they move, but even so they tend to travel on beaten runways and paths as the undergrowth presents hazard in the form of tangled mass of grasses, sedges, and herbs, to which sunis are poorly adapted in that they can hardly jump. The pathways that sunis tend to follow are often the completely cleared tracks of forest duikers, quite which are fairly easily recognizable in the case of Zanzibar sunis by the appearance of cloven tracks of uniform size left by slender paired hooves.
In the Jozani Forest, Zanzibar suni are quite regularly seen. They are frequently found in the secondary thicket and do not wander out far from the dense areas. Suni do roam a little but chances of seeing them are good. Amber (Dr. J. Packer in litt.) reported that transects in the densest part of Jozani Forest provide the best means of estimating suni densities, as dung counts are the least reliable in estimating population sizes. He also stated that SCF has previously studied suni demography in the forested areas southwest of Jozani. Dr. Packer’s findings are significant in comparison to those of SCF as it can give a rough estimate of Jozani suni numbers from the past. SCF is in the process of finding out exactly how many suni are in the Jozani area and are attempting to look at the impacts of deforestation, isolation, and behavioral ecology on the mating systems and long-term viability of the suni. This will be done by conducting a long study of suni in Paje and a comparison with suni within the very small Kiwengwa Forest, where the impact of isolation of habitat fragments may be observed. This data will be most useful when attempting to estimate the long-term future of suni in Jozani.