Kirk's Dik-dik
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Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae

[Photo] Damara Dik-Dik, Madoqua kirkii damarensis at Etoscha National park, Namibia. (中文 : 柯氏犬羚, 埃托沙鹽湖, ???米比???). Date 2004.09.20. Author: Winfried Bruenken (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Amrum).

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk's_Dik-dik

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