Antelope Offspring Enchants Visitors at Vienna's Schönbrunn Zoo

During the Christmas season, special offspring have arrived at Tiergarten Schönbrunn: A Kirk's dik-dik was born on Tuesday. This means there are currently two young animals among the smallest antelopes in Africa. When fully grown, Kirk's dik-diks reach only the size of a field hare.

Sweet Christmas Greetings from Tiergarten Schönbrunn

Those who wish to visit the two young animals opposite the elephant house can do so daily from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, even during the Christmas holidays. However, a bit of patience is required. "Kirk's dik-diks are so-called hiders. The young animals are usually well hidden from predators in the grass during the first weeks of life and are regularly visited by the mother for nursing. However, they already follow the parent animals through the enclosure," explains zoo director Dr. Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck.

For a long time, Tiergarten Schönbrunn worked on assembling suitable breeding animals. "Our group now consists of two females and one male. All three harmonize very well with each other, and so we were able to celebrate our very first offspring a year ago," says curator Dr. Folko Balfanz. Since then, breeding has been successful: Another young animal was born on December 5th.

Dik-dik: The Origin of the Name

After a gestation period of nearly six months, a Kirk's dik-dik gives birth to a young animal weighing about half a kilogram. The little one is nursed for six to eight weeks. Balfanz: "The tiny dik-diks are easy prey for leopards, wild dogs, and birds of prey. If the animals spot potential predators, they emit an alarm call that sounds like a high-pitched 'dsik-dsik'."

(Red)

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