Over the weekend, Grant collected me several times to go birding on the mine while he did his rounds. Apart from many birds seen, we were thrilled to come across a little family of three dik-dik running along the road towards our vehicle.
The youngest member of a dik-dik family we came across, skips along the road
Momma and pop are much more suspicious than their little one in the front
A dik-dik is a small antelope in the Genus Madoqua
that lives in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa. Dik-diks
stand about 30–40 cm at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm
long, weigh 3–6 kg and can live for up to 10 years. Dik-diks
are named for the alarm calls of the females. In addition to the
females' alarm call, both the male and female make a shrill, whistling
sound. These calls may alert other animals to predators.
Dik-diks are hunted primarily by monitor lizards and smaller cats, such as the caracul; as well as lions, hyenas, wild dogs and humans. The dik-dik's other predators are leopard, cheetahs, jackal, baboons, eagles hawks and pythons. Dik-diks' adaptation to predation include excellent eyesight and the ability to reach speeds up to 42 km/ 26 miles per hour.
The youngster was very interested in these strange creatures watching him
I wish you all a wonderful week ahead.
Oh, those huge eyes!!! Thank you for capturing and posting this charming creature. As a child we had a natural history encyclopaedia which we children loved and made good use of. When I had children I collected old books and had a stack of encyclopaedias, old and new, yet never have I come across this little beauty.
ReplyDeleteThe diversity of life on this earth always amaze me.
They are so tiny and cute.
ReplyDeleteThese little guys are so small. How fortunate to see a little one out in the open.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo,
ReplyDeleteI am the other Jo from Minnesota,
I see your comments now and then and just wanted to say Hello.
The dik-diks are beautiful especially the baby. Thanks for making our world bigger!
Jo in MN
Awww...I want to pet it!!Hahaaa
ReplyDeleteToo Cute Jo...
Thanks for the sweet comment Miz Jo on my blog! Lifted my spirits!
hughugs
Great photos. I had to read this to find out what a dik-dik is! They're beautiful - such tiny, delicate creatures.
ReplyDeleteThat first photo is so delicate...it's painful xxx
ReplyDeleteOh wow JO, they are so darn cute! Adorable photos.
ReplyDeleteWhat extraordinarily good shots of the dik-dik! I've seen a few, mostly in thick brush, and have taken some photos but nothing like this. How wonderful that they came out into open view for you and you were alert enough to get these lovely pics.
ReplyDeleteTheir eyes look so-o big! They are really cute little creatures.
ReplyDelete