Longleat Safari Park is celebrating the birth of yet another new addition to its animal family – a Kirk’s dik-dik calf, named Maple. Born to first-time parents Daenerys and Dario, the tiny calf is the latest in what has been a remarkable year of births at the Wiltshire park.
Maple, now seven weeks old, can be found in Longleat’s Jungle Kingdom alongside her parents. Kirk’s dik-diks are small, shy antelopes native to eastern and southern Africa, known for their diminutive size – adults only grow to around 40cm in height.
Animal Adventure keeper, Nadia Rozkoszek, expressed the team’s excitement: “We’re so thrilled to welcome a new arrival here. We don’t yet know Maple’s sex as they are very shy and timid, but we suspect Maple may be a girl. They are hard to spot amongst the foliage as they prefer to hide to feel safe, but we’re excited for visitors to see the little one.”
At birth, dik-dik calves typically weigh between 500 to 800 grams, with adults weighing up to six kilograms. While it may take a little while to confirm Maple’s sex, keepers are keeping a close eye on the young calf to see if horns develop, which would indicate a male.
Longleat’s recent baby boom has also seen the arrival of rare Amur tiger cubs, a Cotton Top Tamarin, Californian Sea lion pups, Fennec fox cubs, and even a Secretary bird chick, marking a successful year for the park’s breeding programmes.
Visitors to Longleat should be on the lookout for Maple in Jungle Kingdom, where the shy little antelope is exploring her surroundings, bringing even more life to the bustling park.
