Four species of tiny antelope living in the bushlands of eastern and south-western Africa. Pairs stay together for life in small territories, which they mark with scent from a gland under each eye. They get almost all their water from food and rarely need to drink.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Hunted locally, mostly with snares, for its hide and bones.
At a glance
Found inAfrica
HabitatScrub, Grassland
ColoursTan, Grey
SizeSmall
Length50–70 cm
Height30–40 cm at the shoulder
Weight3–6 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inpairs
Lives for5–10 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Bushlands of eastern Africa, plus a separate population of Kirk's dik-dik in Namibia and south-west Africa.
- What it eats
- Leaves, shoots, fruit and berries, with little or no grass.
Did you know
A tiny antelope named after the alarm call the female makes.
Unlike other ruminants, which are born forefeet first, a dik-dik is born nose first.
Its long, flexible snout works like bellows, cooling blood with evaporation in extreme heat.
Often confused with
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