Maple the tiny antelope weighs less than a bag of sugar

Maple is teeny tiny!

Keepers at Longleat Safari Park are celebrating the birth of this adorable tiny Kirk’s dik-dik calf.

They are a type of small antelope that only grow to approximately 40cm tall - that's just slightly taller than a ruler!

The calf, called Maple, has been born to first time parents, Daenerys and Dario, who have been living at Longleat since 2020.

Maple, is now seven weeks old, but it's not yet known if they're a boy or a girl.

More about Maple

Keepers say the new arrival is quite "shy" and "timid" adding that the easiest way to tell if a Kirk’s dik-dik is male or female is to see if they grow horns or not.

Animal Adventure keeper, Nadia Rozkoszek, says: “Maple currently looks like a mini Daenerys, so we have a sneaky suspicion she may be a girl, but only time will tell."

The safari park is currently experiencing a baby boom.

It's seen the birth of four rare amur tiger cubs, an endangered cotton top tamarin, two Californian sea lion pups, fennec fox cubs and a secretary bird chick.

All about Kirk’s dik-diks

The species originates from Eastern and Southwest Africa and is mainly found in Savannah areas - so in places with woodland and grass.

Their main diet is leaves, twigs, vegetables and greens.

Dik-diks like to hide to make them feel safe, meaning they can be hard to spot.

Calves tend to weigh between 500 – 800 grams at birth, with adults weighing anywhere between three to six kilograms - about the same as a cat.

Their conservation status is 'least concern' - which means there are plenty of them living in the wild.