BALTIMORE — On Wednesday, The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore announced that a male blue duiker was born on June 17.
The tiny calf was born to three-year-old female, Flower, and weighed 12 ounces at birth, which is about the same weight as a can of soup.
“Flower and the baby are housed behind-the-scenes in our Africa Barn,” said Erin Cantwell, mammal collection and conservation manager. “The baby is nursing well and gaining weight, and Flower is very protective and patient.”
Blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) is a species of antelope found in the forests of western, southern and eastern Africa. They weigh seven to 20 pounds and, while they are currently not classified as threatened or endangered, their population is affected by over-hunting and loss of habitat.
The duiker gets its name from the Afrikaans word ‘duiker’ which means to dive, which relates to the animal’s habit of ducking away into bushes when danger threatens.