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Kirk's dik-dik - MADOQUA KIRKI
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Dik-dik": "Dik-dik" is the eastern African word for the animal, probably derived from the sound it makes.
Location: Eastern and southwestern Africa.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Savanna and scrub.
Description:The coat is gray on the back, changing to pale beige underneath. As in other dik-diks, the snout is elongated to form a small proboscis. The eyes are surrounded by white, and its small horns found on the males are about two and a half inches long, grow on the forehead, and are surrounded by a tuft of erect hairs. This dik-dik grows about two feet long, 16 inches high at the shoulder, and weighs up to ten pounds.
Behavior: This dik-dik shows considerable differences in size and coloration between the northern and southern parts of its geographic range. Like other dik-diks, this species is able to survive for long periods without water. It feeds on tubers and roots, which it digs out of the ground. When startled, it runs in a zigzag pattern, with frequent leaps and bounds. Another distinctive characteristic of dik-diks is that they deposit their droppings in certain selected places, forming large piles of feces. It lives in pairs, and is active both at night and during the day.
Reproduction:After about a six-month gestation, one young is born which matures rapidly.
Go to the Artiodactyla Page to learn more about all the even-toed hoofed animals.
Go to the Salt's Dik-dik for
the only other Dik-dik listed in America Zoo.
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