The Brookfield Zoo received a special valentine Thursday sweeter than any candy or chocolate.
Fittingly named Valentino, a baby African antelope was born at the zoo on Valentine’s Day. The tiny male calf weighed just over 23 ounces, zoo officials said.
Valentino is the second calf born to its mother, Chloe, and the first born to its father, Captain. Right now, the baby is being fed a bottle of milk formula every few hours and will be introduced to solid foods in about a week, the zoo said.
Valentino is a species of antelope known as a Kirk’s dik-dik, one of the smallest antelopes in the world. In the next three weeks, Valentino will double his weight, gaining about 1.5 ounces per day. Once fully grown, the calf will weigh between 12 and 14 pounds and be 14 to 16 inches tall.
Dik-diks vary in color depending on their habitat, so they can stay camouflaged from predators. They are best identified by the white rings around their large, dark eyes.
Dik-diks, found throughout Africa, are mostly nocturnal in the wild to avoid being in the heat. They like to munch on foliage, berries and shoots.
