Latrines, territories, and predator avoidance
As a very small antelope, dik-diks are vulnerable prey to any passing predator and are taken by more than 20 predator species: lions, cheetahs, leopards, African wild dogs, martial eagles, jackals, caracals, servals, pythons and more. Without question, the selective pressure on these animals to avoid predation is massive and their modus operandi is to know a section of bush so well that with every twist and turn they can spot a predator coming from a distance, hide and move around the vegetation to avoid them. They know their area so well that they can dodge any predator attack and will not try to outrun them but dive into a hiding spot, so the predator misses them. In the meantime, they can’t be out grazing for hours at a time leaving themselves exposed to all the passing predators, so they are specialized browsers taking just the highly nutritious leaves and buds from the trees and shrubs they feed on, mostly in the evening and before midnight but also in the early morning, when is the perfect time to photograph them. Compared to other antelope species, they spend an inordinately long time either ruminating or simply hiding from predators.
In my experience the best places to see dik-diks are close to the safari camps. Ndutu safari camp in the south of the Serengeti is a case in point. Situated in the arid scrub, every time you turn around you see a pair of dik-diks. Initially I thought this could be simply because the habitat was perfect, and the predators avoided the camps – but this was not really true since I bumped into a lion one night. Maybe reduced predator pressure coupled with nocturnal lighting that allows them the means to browse more at night, and some access to water may be driving this preference.