By Barbara Lundrigan and Karen Kapheim
Geographic Range
Salt's dik-dik can be found from northeastern Sudan to northern and eastern Ethiopia, and throughout Somalia (Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Habitat
Madoqua saltiana live in relatively dry regions with thick vegetation. This may be stony rocky slopes of 3 km in height or low shrubby bush (Duplaix and Simon 1976, Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Terrestrial Biomes:
savanna or grassland 
; scrub forest .
Physical Description
(4.4 to 13.2 lbs; avg. 9.35 lbs)
Head and body length: 520-670 mm
Tail length: 35-55 mm
Height: 330-400 mm
The pelage of Madoqua saltiana is soft and lax. The fur on the back varies from reddish-brown to yellowish-gray. The flanks are lighter. The front of the neck and breast is a reddish-gray and the legs are rusty red, along with the animal's nose, crest, and backs of the ears. The cheeks, neck, and throat present a peppery look of gray. Just the chin, inside of thighs, and central line of the underside is whitish in color (Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
M. saltiana have small accessory hooves and an inconspicuous tail. Males have ringed horns, which are stout at the base. The horns have slight longitudinal grooves, but these are somewhat concealed by the small tuft of hair on the forehead.Females have four mammae (Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
Female dik-diks give birth to one young twice a year. The newborn dik-dik weighs between 0.5 and 0.8 kg. It is hidden for at least 2 to 3 weeks. After one week, the infant dik-dik is able to eat solid food. However, it continues to nurse for 3 to 4 months (Haltenorth and Diller 1977).
At the age of 1 month, the male dik-dik begins to grow his horns. Male dik-diks reach sexual maturity at 8 to 9 months, and females at 6-8 months. The young are adult size after 8 months and stop growing completely after 12 months. Once sexual maturity is reached, they establish a territory with a mate. They may live 3 to 4 years in the wild (Haltenorth and Diller 1977).
Key reproductive features:
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual .
Behavior
Madoqua saltiana are most active in the morning and late afternoon. On occassion, they will remain active through the afternoon into night (Duplaix and Simon 1976, Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
For the most part, dik-diks are shy and elusive. They live in small family groups which consist of a pair of monogamous partners and their two youngest offspring. The family group works together to maintain a territory. Within these territories they use well-defined paths, or runs. These runs are used to navigate through thick vegetation. Runs can also be used to mark territory boundaries with droppings (Duplaix and Simon 1976, Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
When M. saltiana are alarmed, they erect the tuft of hair on their forehead and run away in a zig-zag pattern. They also make an alarm call which sounds like the words 'dik-dik' (Duplaix and Simon 1976, Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Food Habits
Madoqua saltiana are herbivorous browsers. They will eat leaves of scrub, bushes, buds, plants, flowers, fruit, and herbs. However, they browse mainly on acacia bushes (Duplaix and Simon 1976, Haltenorth and Diller 1977, Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Hunters are disabled by the dik-dik's dramatic alarm behavior, because it warns other game that danger is near (Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Madoqua saltiana has been hunted for its skin to make gloves (Nowak and Paradiso 1983).
Ways that people benefit from these animals:
food ; body parts are source of valuable material.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: [link]:
Least Concern.
US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.
CITES: [link]:
No special status.
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Other Comments
Madoqua saltiana have excellent sight, smell, and hearing (Haltenorth and Diller 1977).
Contributors
Barbara Lundrigan (author), Michigan State University. Karen Kapheim (author), Michigan State University.
