25/05/2023
What do you know about dik-diks ?
1. They mark their territory with a "defecation ceremony." First the female defecates and urinates at a specific site with the male standing directly behind her. Then he sniffs at her droppings and urine while curling his upper lip and baring his teeth. The male scrapes her f***s with his front legs and deposits his own f***s and urine over hers. Conflicts between neighbors are not common, but when they do occur, the males from each territory run at each other, stop short, and then nod their heads and turn around. They repeat this, starting at greater and greater distances from one another, until one gives up. Then they both paw the ground, urinate, and defecate.
2. They also mark their territory with eye secretions. A bare black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland. It produces a dark, sticky secretion. Dik-diks poke their eyes in grass stems and twigs to spread the secretion, scent-marking their territories.
3. They don't have to drink. Dik-diks are herbivores whose diet mainly consists of foliage, shoots, fruit, and berries. They receive sufficient water from their food, making drinking unnecessary. They also have the most concentrated urine and driest f***s of any ungulate.
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