Due to their elongated proboscis, Madoqua guentheri and Madoqua kirkii are distinguished as a separate genus or subgenus, Rhynchotragus. Kingdon believes that this splitting is unnecessary and obscures the homogeneity of dik-diks. (Kingdon, 1982)
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Guenther's dik-dik appears to be favored in the short term by ecological changes in the vegetation caused by human development. Consequently, they have survived despite severe habitat degradation in regions of Somalia. However, overhunting can be a problem. They have been hunted unremittingly by humans because they are easy to kill by such means as a thrown club and their numbers have decreased due to hunting in closely settled areas. At present population size is over 100,000. There is a possibility of risk in future years because there are fewer than three populations of at least 5,000 animals in managed areas. (Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, 1990; Kingdon, 1982; Kingswood et al., 1996)
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Some hunters dislike Guenther's dik-diks because they warn and flush out larger game animals. (Nowak, 1999)
Guenther's dik-diks are important game animals. In the early 1900's skins sold for export numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Currently they are hunted both legally and illegally. Their skins are used for karosses and are sold as "gazelle leather" for the making of gloves. At least two hides are needed to make a single pair of gloves. (Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, 1990; Kingdon, 1990; Kingswood et al., 1996)
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
Guenther's dik-diks are highly selective browsers. They feed on particular parts of the plant, including the leaves and flowers of forbs, leaves, stems, flowers, fruits, seeds and pods of shrubs and trees. Grasses make up only a small portion of their diet (except for flowers and seeds), although they do chew at the tips of new grass on occasion. Guenther's dik-diks do not concentrate their feeding on one plant. They are adapted to dry conditions and feed on shrubs and trees that are rich in protein, as well as several xerophytic succulents. As an alternative to being concentrators, they wander and choose from an assortment of vegetation. Food items are very diverse and are usually of high nutritional value. The composition of their diet varies seasonally. Diet consists of the following plant species during the dry season: Acacia pennata, Combretum spp., Fagara merkeri, Grewia spp., Harrisonia abyssinica and Tamarindus indica. In the wet season, their diet includes Acacia senegal, Commiphora schimperi, Ipomoea and Leonotis nepetifola. They have also been known to browse on crops and orchards. They favor growing sesame buds of cultivated crops. Water is obtained from plant juices and dew. They can survive without drinking surface water.
Madoqua guentheri generally feeds near to the ground and plucks food with its tongue and upper lip. They also have several special adaptations that allow them to acquire small leaves surrounded by thorns and to obtain nutrition in areas that fail to support larger browsers adequately. These adaptations include an elongated proboscis, narrow muzzle and tongue, and a slender body. They use their forelegs to pull the browse down from higher levels or stand in a bipedal position using twigs for forelimb support to obtain this food. On occasion, hooves or horns are used to dig for roots. The feeding habits of other browsers, primates, rodents and birds help to bring food within the reach of M. guentheri. These animals tend to scatter the ground with pods, buds, leaves and flowers, leaving them available for dik-diks to consume.
Dik-diks typically feed from dawn until mid-morning and then again from mid-afternoon until after dark. (Eltringham, 1979; Kingdon, 1982; Kingswood et al., 1996; Weyrauch et al., 1985)
Guenther's dik-dik is an endemic species of the Somali Arid Zone of East Africa. They are found in Somalia (excluding the extreme northeast and northwest, as well as the central coastal strip), the eastern and southern lowlands of Ethiopia, northern and eastern Kenya, northeastern Uganda and extreme southeastern Sudan. They are currently absent from northwestern Somalia, with their populations reduced in the Haud and lower Juba River drainage. (Kingswood et al., 1996; MSW Scientific Names)
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Habitats of Madoqua guentheri are characterized by low thicket vegetation because they do not like to be away from cover. However, they do not thrive in dense growth because vision and movement are hindered. Preferred habitats include arid and semiarid thornbush, savanna grassland-woodland, and riverine grassland-woodland. Their numbers are greatest in areas that are over-grazed or disturbed because these areas have food at a level they can obtain it at. Roadsides and regenerating bush on old fields are preferred. Habitats range from areas with sandy soils to lava flats and low, rocky hills. (Kingdon, 1982; Kingswood et al., 1996)
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; scrub forest
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 17.5 (high) years.
Guenther's dik-diks are small, slender animals with long necks and small heads. Their hindquarters are usually located at the same level or higher than the shoulder. Their pelage is soft, with coloration ranging from yellowish gray to reddish brown on the dorsal side and white to grayish on the ventral. They have a short tail (3 to 5 cm long) which is hairy on the dorsal side and naked on the ventral side. Males have black horns that are short (up to 9.8 cm long) and are either straight or curved backward from the profile. These horns become more circular towards the tips and are ringed. Sometimes they are hidden by a tuft of hair on the forehead. Their eyes are large and black. Eyelids and preorbital glands are also black. The ears of dik-diks are large and white on the inside. Their legs are slender and long, with black hooves pointed anteriorly. Accessory hooves are diminutive. Since the females are larger and do not possess horns, Madoqua guentheri are sexually dimorphic. Both sexes have a crest of hair, but the crest of males is typically more brightly colored and longer.
Another distinguishing feature of Guenther's dik-diks are their elongated snout that can be turned in all directions. Madoqua guentheri can be distinguished from a similar species, Madoqua kirkii, by their longer nose. This snout results in reduced nasal and premaxillary bones. It is thought that their nose is a thermoregulatory device. Arterial blood is diverted to membranes in the snout and, through an evaporative process, is cooled.
Skulls of Guenther's dik-diks also have several distinctive characteristics. The cores of the horns are located behind the orbit in males. Premaxillae are thin anteriorly and then expand slightly. The nasals are undersized and wide. (Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, 1990; Kingdon, 1982; Kingswood et al., 1996; Nowak, 1999)
Range mass: 3 to 5 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Guenther's dik-diks arrive at sexual maturity prior to their first year of age. They remain reproductively mature past their tenth year of age. The range of days of estrus in females is between one and seven, with the mean being 1.48. It is not influenced by seasonality and occurs year-round. Females standing with a decurved spinal position, called lordosis, are in estrus. Estrus is also signified by low levels of a urinary progesterone metabolite prior, during, or following estrus. The gestation period usually lasts from 170 to 180 days and litter size consists of one calf. They generally give birth twice a year. During parturition, the head appears first and the forelegs are laid back alongside the body. This differs from births among other ruminants, except the mouse deer. Post-partum estrus lasts about ten days after birth; consequently mating and parturition occur at the same time of year. This results in female dik-diks being pregnant for most of the year, including the time in which they have dependent young. Male fawns typically weigh between 725 and 792 grams at birth, while females weigh between 560 and 680 grams. Young are nursed for three to four months. Fawns, however, can start to eat solid food after about a week. The fawns are hidden for the first two to three weeks after birth. This concealing period is assisted by the mothers' ingestion of the afterbirth. The female stays with her young for the first few days after birth. She leaves frequently for short periods of time in order to feed, but soon these short periods become longer. Eventually females visit young four times a day- at sunrise, midday, dusk and sunset. For a few months after the concealing period, young fawns accompany both parents. The father takes no part in providing food for the young but has a parental relationship nonetheless. An example of this is that the male will groom the juvenile. As a result of this relationship, the father is more tolerant of his own young. Fawns are endured even in situations that would elicit aggression under normal circumstances. Fawns are contacted using calls made by the mother. When called to, the young comes out of the refuge. The young are silent during the day but may whistle at night.
The coloration of young dik-diks is identical to adults at birth. The ears, nose and legs are also well developed. Between seven and nine weeks, horns appear, although at first the crest hides them. The horns reach their full size at two years of age. At 34 weeks, horn annulations appear. Adult height is achieved at one year and adult weight at eight months. (Eltringham, 1979; Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, 1990; Kingdon, 1982; Kingswood et al., 1996; Robeck et al., 1997)
Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 5.67 to 6 months.
Range weaning age: 4 to 5.33 months.
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average birth mass: 681.67 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Parental Investment: altricial
Günther's dik-dik (Madoqua guentheri) is a small antelope found in arid zones of East Africa.
Günther's dik-dik is one of the smallest ungulates in Africa, weighing 3–5 kilograms (6.6–11.0 lb) when fully grown. It has a yellowish-gray to reddish-brown coat, black hooves, small heads with long necks and large ears with white insides. Belly, chin, breast, throat and inner thighs are cream or white. The tail is short (~3–5 cm). Males are horned, with horn length (~9.8 cm) varying between individuals. Although the horn cores are only present in males, gender identification can be difficult from a distance. Females are larger and lack horns.[3]
Four subspecies have been proposed based on size and pelage features, but have not yet been analyzed genetically.[1]
The species is found in the lowlands of Ethiopia, most of the northern and eastern regions of Kenya, Somalia excluding specific regions of the coast, limited regions of southeastern Sudan, and northeastern Uganda.[1][3] They avoid coastal regions. Typical habitat includes low thicket-type vegetation in thornbush, savanna grassland and riverine woodland biomes, and extends to disturbed and overgrazed areas. Habitat overlaps with other small antelope species such as Kirk's dik-dik.[3]
Günther's dik-dik is a browser rather than a grazer, feeding mainly on the leaves, flowers, stems, fruits and seeds of non-grasses. The species feeds on plants close to the ground, due to its small stature. It is primarily diurnal, with activity peaks from dawn until mid-morning and mid-afternoon until after dark.[4] The species is monogamous; parents and calves do not form family groups for prolonged periods, and the calf is driven out at an early age to fend for itself.[3] Only a single calf is born at a time. The species does not breed seasonally and can have late gestation periods.[5]
While it has a limited vocal repertoire, the species has been shown to make use of the alarm calls of other species, for example responding with increased vigilance or flight behaviour to the alarm calls of the white-bellied go-away-bird.[6]
The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, as it appears to be common throughout its range. Total population size is estimated as at least 500,000 individuals. It is hunted for meat, but not commercially.[1] Habituation to human presence may have a negative fitness effect on individuals, but this has not yet been verified.[7]
Günther's dik-dik (Madoqua guentheri) is a small antelope found in arid zones of East Africa.
