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Baby antelope as big as a tin of baked beans

Stewart WhittinghamNorth West
Chester Zoo Dotty the dik-dik fawn with big black eyes is pictured next to green leaves in her den.Chester Zoo
Dotty was born in February but has just taken her first wobbly steps outside at Chester Zoo

One of the world's smallest baby antelopes has taken her first unsteady steps at her Cheshire zoo home.

Dotty the Kirk's dik-dik fawn stands barely taller than a tin of baked beans after being born at Chester Zoo in February.

She weighed just a a few hundred grams and will reach just 16in (40cm) tall making her one of the smallest antelopes on the planet.

Zoo staff said Dotty had spent the first few weeks of her life in her "cosy" den with her mother Chrissy before she finally ventured outside for a walk.

Small mammals assistant manager Megan Carpenter said: "Dik-diks are naturally very shy animals, so for the first couple of weeks Chrissy's tiny fawn has been tucked away in a quiet, cosy den, with mum popping back to feed and check on her.

"Now, though, she's beginning to find her feet and we're seeing those lovely first steps as she heads out on her first little outdoor adventures."

Chester Zoo Dotty the baby fawn in her pen at Chester Zoo looks unsteady on her feet on a big bed of straw. She has large ears and big black eyes.Chester Zoo
Dotty's father died before her birth, but a new male has stepped in to help

Dotty is being raised with the help of a surrogate father after her own died of old age shortly before her birth.

A new male dik-dik named Dan, who arrived from a zoo in Cumbria in February, has stepped in alongside mum Chrissy.

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