August 9, 2022 (BALTIMORE, MD) – The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is happy to announce the start of a feminine blue duiker (DIKE-er) named Marigold. She was born on July twenty fourth to Flower (feminine) and Kuruka (male).
The start was a results of a breeding advice from the Blue Duiker Species Survival Plan (SSP) coordinated by the Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The SSP offers breeding suggestions to maximise genetic variety, with the purpose of making certain well being of the person animal, in addition to the long-term survival of the species inhabitants to assist save animals from extinction.
“Marigold is wholesome and gaining weight as she bonds along with her mom within the barn,” stated Erin Grimm, Curator of Mammals on the Maryland Zoo. “We’ve had good success breeding blue duikers. That is the third calf from our feminine, Flower, and the primary for our male, Kuruka.
Blue duikers are small. Adults are about the identical dimension as a housecat. Marigold at the moment weighs about 700 grams, which is roughly one and a half kilos.
Marigold might run inside hours of start however, as with most duiker calves, gained’t roam freely for the primary a number of weeks of life. Within the wild, the calves keep hidden within the underbrush and wait for his or her moms to come back nurse them. They’re weaned by 3 months of age and attain full dimension at about 6 months. With out an excessive amount of prompting from their dad and mom, calves will go away their dwelling territories between the ages of 1 and a pair of years, upon reaching sexual maturity.
Blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) is a species of antelope discovered within the forests of western, southern and jap Africa. The duiker will get its title from the Afrikaans phrase ‘duiker’ which implies to dive as a result of the animals will duck away into bushes when hazard threatens. As adults, they will weigh seven to twenty kilos. Whereas they’re at the moment not categorised as threatened or endangered, their inhabitants is affected by over-hunting and lack of habitat.
Picture credit score: Maryland Zoo
