Oh so very dinky!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 03:26PM There's nothing quite so dinky as a baby dikdik....so it was easy to name the new addition to our household: without further ado, Dinky he was named. Let me update you:
This morning, a tiny dikdik baby was brought to us in a cardboard box by some people from the neighbouring village, who said they had found the little mite all alone when they were clearing their fields. Unfortunately, they should really have left the little thing where they found it, for a mother antelope often leaves her very young baby hidden in some undergrowth while she goes off to forage, returning periodically to feed the little one. But once the human scent is on the baby, the mother would most likely reject it and the baby dikdik would not stand much of a chance to live through the night.
So here we are, with this tiny wee creature on our hands, HOPING that we can keep him alive and rear him safely here at Kulafumbi, and then, when he is old enough to fend for himself, return him to the wild where he belongs.
Right now, Dinky is only about 5-6 inches long, still has some of his umblical cord attached, and probably weighs no more than 500 grams...very dinky indeed! Fortunately, our "neighbour" (who lives 10 kilometers upstream from us) has reared orphaned antelope, and had some leftover milk powder which I borrowed (for cow's milk is far too rich for most wild animals to digest). I also picked up a baby's bottle but the teat is still much too big for Dinky's tiny little mouth, so I am feeding him by syringe, which seems to be working quite well, although he is taking very tiny quantities at the moment. This morning, before leaving in search of some milk powder, and fearing he would dehydrate (not knowing when he last had a feed from his mother), I just gave him some water (he drank about two syringe-fulls, which is only about 4 ml, which immediately seemed to reinvigorate him and he became more perky). Since returning home at midday with the milk powder, he has drunk about 10ml of milk mixture, in two separate sittings. Already he is seeming stronger, trying to get up on his feet (he can't quite stand on his own yet, which also indicates how very young he must be, for antelope are able to stand up very soon after they're born.) I am trying to feed him as often as possible to begin with, in order to get enough sustenance into him - even if it's only 5ml at a time. As he gets older, I will reduce the frequency to 3 larger feeds per day.
Well, I know you want to meet the little chap (and he is a little chap - I had a look!), so here he is:
By the way, it HAS started raining - I'll do an update about the river and the rain shortly...
Reader Comments (5)
Nice to hear from you again. What a sweet little thing he is. Do you think you'll be able to get him back into the wild successfully?
How cute is he ! But what a way to start life.... hopefully he will pull through and you can release him as soon as possible.
Hi Imogen, hi Audrey...yes, we really hope we will be able to get him back into the wild successfully. We plan to bring him up in and around the house (where there's plenty of greenery to eat, once he starts eating leaves) and then, as he gets older, just let him come and go as he pleases until he goes off on his own completely. Of course, there are so many risks out there for a little tiny thing like him, but hopefully he will be one of the lucky ones and will make it to adulthood...for that reason, we'll keep him indoors at night for as long as possible to give him a better chance of survival...
I want one....
Oh wow and double wow wow, he is so cute and we will see him in 3 weeks!!! This is just about as awesome as it gets. Trembling with excitement for you. Hugs xx