Antelope range of beauties - Damara Dik dik

Next up! this little cute fella!


My name is Damara the dik- dik. In my family there are five species .I am a tiny 5kg antelope who is easily overlooked in the bush. I have an elongated and very mobile nose and there is also something else you don't know about me. I have this cute tuft of long hair on my forehead that is erected during certain social interactions.

I have a horn which has an average length: 8cm. In my family Rams have short, spike–like horns that slope back at angle of facial profile.

My colour tends to be pale grey-brown to darker shades of brown. My Underparts and inside of thighs are a whitish-yellow. White rings are found around my eyes.  My neck is paler than my shoulders and flanks.

I live in areas that have dry bush or are wooded country with thick undergrowth. The terrain is often stony. You can also find me on hillsides and nearby rocky outcrops. I am a browser who normally eats  leaves, but also feeds on herbs, flowers and pods.

If you want to know I am in the bush, you should listen to the single, sharp whistle I let off when am startled and may retreat in a series of stiff-legged bounds. Each time my hooves hit the ground, I gives off a further short whistle, and it is from this that my name is thought to have come from. The force of my legs hitting the hard terrain is protected by the my shock absorbers: well developed, rubbery pads which are at the back of each hoof.

We normally occur singly, in pairs, or in family parties of three, except during the dry season when groups of up to six may be seen together. We tend to territorial, and mark our territories using a secretion produced by glands which are found in front of our eyes, as well as with dung and urine. My main predators are leopards and caracals. Pairs bond for life and males are dominant. Males do not help with the rearing of young and cover the female’s scent markings with their own in order to maintain the pair bond.

The females in my species give birth to one fawn each year during the rainy season. Gestation period is between is 166-172 days.

Quick Facts

Scientific name: Madoqua
Gestation Period: 169 – 174 d (Adult, Female)

Height: 30 – 40 cm (At Shoulder)

Length: 50 – 70 cm

Rank: Genus

Lower classifications: Silver dik-dik, Salt's dik-dik, Kirk's dik-dik, Gunthers dik- dik

Mass: 0.7 – 0.8 kg (Male, Newborn), 0.6 – 0.7 kg (Female, Newborn), 3 – 6 kg

You can find me in the following parks in Kenya

•  Masai Mara
• Samburu
• Meru and
• Tsavo