It is obviously a close relative of the cow, so why does it look so much like a deer?

Audit expert: Chen Yu

Paleontological restoration artist

"Big, lively eyes, a high, upturned nose, and thick eyelashes make it blink into your heart..." If we were to say which animal in the animal kingdom best fits this lyric, it would be the Madoqua (Madoqua).

If you really see a antelope in person, I guarantee you will be attracted by its appearance: it has a petite and slender body, delicate facial features, and a natural beauty effect of big eyes and thin face. Pay attention! The most special thing about the antelope is that its nostrils are heart-shaped.

Source: peapix

If we were to choose the most beautiful animal in the world, the antelope would easily be in the top five. Let me introduce it to you.

The living habits of the antelope

The English name of the Dik-dik is also a very special one in the animal kingdom. Its English name is Dik-dik, which is named after the sound they make.

As the smallest antelope in the world, it is only 30-40 cm tall at the shoulder and 52-67 cm long, looking about the same size as a dog. It generally weighs only 3-5 kg, which is equivalent to a newborn baby.

There are six species in the genus , including the Goniophorus and the Koiphorus. Although it looks like a deer, it is actually a member of the Bovidae family, a distant relative of the cow, based on the fact that its horns are not forked like cows, while deer horns have many branches. It also chews the cud like cows, returning food that has been swallowed into the stomach to the mouth for further chewing.

The antelope is a herbivorous animal, but unlike other antelopes, the antelope does not like to eat grass on the ground, but prefers to eat leaves from bushes , and the leaves about 50 cm from the ground are the main food. Their slender nose can accurately push aside the branches, ensuring that they can pick the leaves without touching the small thorns on the branches. In addition to eating leaves, they also feed on bamboo shoots, flowers, fruits, etc.

This kind of strange little animal is also a typical night owl . In order to avoid predators, they usually choose to eat after dusk or before dawn. Amazingly, the number of times that the antelope drinks water in its life is very few. They almost do not need to find flowing water sources, but get water from plants.

A distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope

The antelope usually lives in the bush or grasslands of South Africa or East Africa. Like other antelopes, the biggest natural enemies of the antelope are leopards, lions, wolves and other animals, but due to its small size, it sometimes even becomes the dinner of pythons and baboons.

The survival methods of the oryx

In order to better stay away from the harm of natural enemies, the antelope has several means of survival.

First, they will choose to live in the bush, but if the growth of grass blocks their sight, or there are not enough leaves, they will choose to migrate and live in areas with lower vegetation; secondly, the fur color of the dik-dik can help them blend well with the environment; in addition, the dik-dik has a special skill, which is that they can remain motionless in one posture for up to an hour, which can also help them avoid being hunted by natural enemies.

The nose of the dik-dik can be twisted at will, allowing it to sense the smell in the air according to the wind direction and determine whether natural enemies are nearby. At the slightest sign of trouble, it will make a "di di" sound to alert its companions.

A distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope

Finally, the antelope is also a master runner in the animal kingdom. Its running style has some similarities with that of the cheetah. Both of them land on their hind legs at the same time, and their backs are slightly bent upward in the air. Their speed is comparable to that of the leopard. They have strong jumping ability. Their powerful hind legs can propel their entire body forward and support them to jump five meters. The antelope is also very responsive. It can always take advantage of the opponent's unexpected sharp turn to throw off the pursuit of its natural enemies. It can even complete a 180° turn without slowing down. They are also good at feinting. Often when the predator thinks it is going to run to the right, it has already crawled into the grass on the left.

In terms of mating and reproduction, female antelopes that already have a partner will continuously release chemical pheromones to attract the opposite sex, but this is not because of their own will, but mainly to keep their partner highly alert at all times and reduce the risk of both being preyed upon by the enemy.

In fact, all antelopes are monogamous, and they will always live with their mate in their own exclusive territory. In addition, unlike most herbivores where the mother raises the offspring, the antelope couple will share the responsibility of raising the child. They usually only give birth to one child at a time, and the child will receive careful care from both parents until he or she can survive independently.

A distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope

The antelopes are very particular about hygiene. Like a princess who lives a refined and elegant life, they do not urinate or defecate anywhere, but have their own "toilet". They will collect their feces together to form a cordon to enclose their own territory, so that everyone can live their own lives without interfering with each other.

Unlike other animals that like to urinate to mark their territory, antelopes like to leave their "tears" on branches to mark their territory. If we look closely at the area around the eyes of antelopes, we will find a layer of black "eye shadow" under their eyes. This is the preorbital gland of the antelope, which can secrete an oily black liquid, which can also be called the antelope's "tears".

A distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope leaves tears on a branch Source | Documentary iA distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope

The way antelopes resolve disputes is also very elegant. Unlike other animals that fight for mates or food, antelopes nod to each other during a fight, but rarely touch each other directly. Their purpose is more to deter each other than to really hurt each other. The way antelopes express anger is to raise the crown on their heads, which looks like they have permed their hair.

A distant relative of a cow, the dog antelope

Who wouldn’t be attracted by such a small and exquisite gazelle?

Although some people raise antelopes in some places abroad, antelopes need to live in open areas, and the cost and difficulty of raising them are very high. In our country, let’s just “raise antelopes online”!