Dik-diks are small animals. Usually about 12 to 16 inches tall at the most. And they only weigh 7 to 15 pounds. (They’re not quite the smallest antelope species, though. What is?–>click here) What do you think they do when they are approached by a threat?
They run. Dik-diks run in a zig-zag pattern, and at speeds up to 26 mph. When they run, they make a noise through their noses.
This is where they get their name.
The whistling noise they make with their noses is thought to sound similar like “dik-dik.”
Dik-diks are unusual in the company they keep. They don’t live in herds like most antelopes. Can you guess what they do instead?
They find a partner and spend the rest of their lives as a couple. This usually means four years of companionship in the wild.
The male is the larger one with the horns.
And guess how dik-diks mark their territory?
With tears. Well, sort of. They have a black spot in the corner of their eyes, and preorbital glandular fluid is secreted, which, when the animal buries its head in the grass or purposefully pokes its eyes on a branch, gets wiped onto the vegetation. It’s a sticky fluid.
Dik-diks also use urine and feces to mark their home turf.
But their excretory matter is scant and dry–the driest and most concentrated of any ungulate. This is because dik-dik’s drink very little water.
Dik-diks: Interesting Facts About the Species
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