Longleat baby boom continues as Kirk's dik-dik calf born
Amur tiger & Fennec fox cubs and Californian Sea Lion pups have been born at the Safari park this year
The baby boom at Longleat Safari Park has continued as animal keepers have welcomed a new-born Kirk's dik-dik's calf.
The new-born, known as Maple, has been born to first time parents, Daenerys and Dario, who have been residents at Longleat since 2020.
Maple is seven-weeks old and can be seen in the Jungle Kingdom, alongside the parents.
Kirk's dik-dik's are a type of small antelope, growing to around 40cm tall.
Animal Adventure keeper, Nadia Rozkoszek, says “We’re so excited to have a new arrival here in Jungle Kingdom. We don’t yet know the sex of the calf. They are quite shy and timid, so at the moment we cannot go in and sex them. The easiest way to tell is waiting to see if they grow horns or not, which will tell us if they are male or female.”
Calves tend to weigh between 500 – 800 grams at birth, with adults weighing anywhere between three to six kilograms.
“Maple currently looks like a mini Daenerys, so we have a sneaky suspicion she may be a girl, but only time will tell. Dik-dik's do like to hide to make them feel safe, meaning they can be hard to spot in amongst the foliage, but we’re really excited for guests to be able to see the little calf.”
Longleat’s baby boom has seen the birth of a quartet of rare Amur tiger cubs, an endangered Cotton Top Tamarin, two Californian Sea lion pups, Fennec fox cubs and the amazing Secretary bird chick.