Twycross Zoo gives thanks to local NHS hospitals with the arrival of a newborn antelope

During these uncertain times, leading conservation charity, Twycross Zoo, has welcomed the arrival of a male Kirk’s Dik-Dik, and the Midlands zoo is asking for its local communities to name the new arrival!

This small antelope from East Africa was born over the Bank Holiday Weekend during the lockdown and is the third baby for Mum, Pogo Jr, who was born at the zoo in 2018 and Dad, Charlie, who has been a resident since 2017.

Tonight (Thursday 16^th April), Twycross Zoo is hosting a Facebook poll to help name the off-spring and the options are George, Samuel or Robert after the surrounding NHS Hospitals – George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Samuel Johnson Community Hospital and Sir Robert Peele Community Hospital, who are all working so hard at the moment to help us through the Covid 19 pandemic and look after our loved ones.

COO of Twycross Zoo, Karen Clarke, commented: “As it is NHS Day and Clap for Keyworkers tonight, we thought it would be a fitting tribute to name our latest newborn after one of our local dedicated hospitals. We hope our local communities and families of the NHS staff working so hard at these hospitals will get involved. Our thanks go out to our country’s dedicated keyworkers at this time.”

To be a part of the poll this evening visit Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwycrossZoo/

Twycross Zoo has been a popular visitor attraction for 57 years and recently launched its vital fundraising appeal. It costs £650,000, at a minimum, per month to run Twycross Zoo. Celebrate its past and protect its future by donating online here: www.twycrosszoo.org/donate/

Facts about the Kirk’s Dik-Dik species:

1. Males have stout horns often hidden by tufts of fur
2. Kirk’s Dik-Dik have an elongated snout that allows excess heat to be lost lowering body temperature
3. Their species name comes from the call they make when startled. They will jump from their hiding place and move in a series of zig-zag leaps whilst making the “dik-dik” call. This movement aims to confuse predators.
4. Kirk’s Dik-Dik form a monogamous male-female pair who maintain a territory in the wild. The pair will have one offspring twice a year coinciding with the start and finish of the rainy season.
5. Infants reach full size by the time they are seven months old. once offspring have reached seven months of age they leave the adults and disperse to establish their own territories.
6. The herbivorous diet of the Kirk’s Dik-Dik is mostly made up of leaves. They have a very high metabolic rate, which means they must eat a high amount of vegetation relative to their size