Kirk's Dikdik

My friend Daniel recently took a job at the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy has been under construction for some time now, but on September 27th, the doors will open to the public. Since Daniel is an employee, he was able to get my sister Diane and I special "Friends & Family" invitations to a pre-grand opening event. The three of us had a lot of fun walking through the rain forests, making faces at spectators through the aquarium plexiglass, and freezing our tushies off on the live roof. I was very impressed by the new and improved Academy. In fact, I think the California Academy of Sciences, though significantly smaller, will definitely rival the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. It's really that good.

One exhibit that really caught my eye was that of the little African gazelle called the Kirk's Dikdik. What an interesting name this little animal has! An IDOM member recently went to Africa with his family. I wonder if they saw Kirk's Dikdik there?



Wikipedia:
The Kirk's Dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii), is a small antelope found in eastern and southwestern Africa. It grows to 70 cm (28 inches) in length and weighs up to 7 kg (15 pounds) when full grown. It has a reddish-brown head and a tail that is 35–55 cm (14-22 inches) long.
It has a soft, grizzled gray to brown coat, and eats a wide range of plants. It has hooves with rubbery bottoms, which are effective when travelling over rocky terrain. Newborns are hidden for 2-3 weeks, and suckle for 3-4 months.

Genetic and behavioural evidence suggests that the Kirk's dik-dik exhibits a fidelity in monogamous behaviour. Genetic analysis of off-spring indicate little non-pair parentage. Year-round, Kirk's dik-dik maintains close within pairs, follows each-others activity patterns and spends more than half of their time with their partners, although males show no parental care. The males guard their mates closely during oestrus and over-mark all female scent. This behaviour reduces the likelihood of other males attempting to mate, however, males did attempt mate with other females on occasion. Genetic monogamy in dik-diks is probably best explained by the behaviour of females: in contrast to many monogamous female birds, female dik-diks do not appear to seek to mate outside the pair-bond.