Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

Newsflash/Bioparc Valencia

This is the moment a cute antelope calf stares into the camera with its big brown eyes after being born in a Spanish zoo during COVID-19 lockdown.

The Kirk’s dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) calf was born at the Valencia Bioparc in the city of Valencia in the eastern Spanish region of the same name.

Kirk’s dik-dik is a small antelope native to eastern Africa and one of four species of dik-dik antelope. It is believed to have six subspecies and possibly a seventh existing in south-western Africa.

The father arrived at the zoo from Montpellier in France and its mother came from Landau in Germany, and the cute calf is their first offspring.

A zoo spokesperson confirmed that the dik-dik is healthy and normal sized.

The calf is allowed to venture outside to investigate its surroundings, but at the moment it is too nervous to leave its enclosure. It is unclear if it has been named. Its gender is also unclear.

According to local media, this species of antelope is hunted for its skin which is often turned into gloves.

Reports said that it takes one whole animal to create a single pair of gloves.

Kirk’s dik-dik antelopes are very quick due to their size and they have a great sense of smell.

The lifespan of a Kirk’s dik-dik in the wild is typically five years, but many live to be over 10.

In captivity, males have been known to live up to 16 years of age while females have lived to be over 18.

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