Order: Artiodactyla                                                                               Family: Bovidae                                   

Scientific name: Madoqua saltiana                                                     U.S. common name: Salt’s dik-dik 

Other names: Swayne’s dik-dik, Phillip’s dik-dik 

Status in the wild: Not endangered 

Major threats: Hunting and habitat loss 

Geographic range currently: Northeastern Sudan, northern and eastern Ethiopia, and Somalia 

Habitat: Evergreen and semi-deciduous bushlands and thickets. 

Circadian cycle: Nocturnal and crepuscular 

 

Size

 

General range                       male                                       female                                                    birth

 

Head to rump length:                               520-670 mm                                                                                                                                       

Tail length:                                               30-45 mm                                                                                                                                       

Head & tail length:                                  550-715 mm                                                                                                                                       

Shoulder height:                                      330-405 mm                                                                                                                                   

Weight:                                                      2.5-4 kg  [2, 4]                                                                                                                                600-700 g  [3]                                                                   

Sexual dimorphism:  Males have horns, females do not.                                                               

 

Reproduction

 

Mating Season: Throughout the year. 

Birthing season: Birth peaks coincide with the rains. 

Gestation period: About 25 weeks 

Estrous cycle: There is a post partum estrus. 

Monestrus/polyestrus: Polyestrous 

Courtship: The male first sniffs and lightly touches the female’s preorbital glands, head, neck and flanks, then begins following her and licking her vulva. She

                    responds by arching her back, raising her tail, and urinating. The male tests the urine and soon afterwards tries to mount; as the female walks

                    away, tail erect, he follows bipedally, forelegs bent and neck stretched forward, penis and head crest both erect. If the female moves too quickly

                    for him, he drops back to all fours and follows in lowstretch, nosing her vulva. If she stops, he again tries to mount. 

Copulation: Copulation is gazelle-like, although the male does not clasp or even rest his forelegs on the female. His neck is held horizontal rather than erect.

                      Immediately after dismounting, the male licks his still-erect penis, then resumes his normal activity. 

Number of mammae: Four 

Interbirth interval: Are capable of giving birth twice per year. 

Sexual maturity: Females calve first at 15-18 months. 

 

 

Rearing and young

 

Young called: Calf 

Number of young (range): One 

Condition of young: Precocial 

Eyes open: At birth 

Weaned: 6 weeks 

Independent: 7-8 months when ejected from the adult’s territory. 

 

General

 

 

Life expectancy: 10-14 years 

Social structure: Live in monogamous couples, together with one or two offspring within a territory. The perimeter of the territory is demarcated by several

                              dung middens. In a typical dunging ceremony, the female first urinates and defecates. Often the male is standing behind her and tests the

                              urine. When she moves off, he sniffs her droppings, paws vigorously, then urinates, after which he defecates. The male’s excrement always

                              ends up on top of the midden. Immediately after the ceremony, both male and female mark nearby twigs with their preorbital glands. 

Unique behavior(s): Avoid heat stress by cooling the blood through nasal panting. The snout is elongated which enlarges the nasal vestibule and the area of

                                   moist mucosa available for evaporative cooling. The flexible trunk of the nose has tiny nostrils and hairy muffle is shaped and functions

                                   like a bellows to increase the rate of air flow while at the same time minimizing water loss to the outside. The normal breathing rate

                                   increases from about one per second to nearly eight breaths per second. The cooled blood returns to the heart via a sinus where hot

                                   blood going to the brain is cooled in a form of “radiator” or rete mirabilis. Selective cooling allows general body temperature to rise

                                   without risking brain function. 

Senses: Olfaction and vision important for communication. 

Coat & coloration: The coat is thick, and the back of gray and speckled. The flanks are variable gray to reddish. The legs and forehead and nose are bright

                                  reddish with a white ring around the eye. 

Dental Formula: 0/3 I, 0/1 C, 3/2-3 PM, 3/3 M = 30-32 total.

Diet: Herbs, foliage and shoots, especially Acacia browsed close to ground level. Rarely drink. 

 

 

Sources

 

Nowak, Ronald M. (ed.) 1999.  Walker’s Mammals of the World Vol. 2 (6^th edition).  The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.

Macdonald, David (ed.). 1987.  The Encyclopedia of Mammals.  Facts on File Publications, New York.

Estes, Richard D. 1991.  The Behavior Guide to African Mammals.  The University of California Press, Berkeley.       

Kingdon, Jonathan 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals.   Academic Press, London.