The arrival of the new year has brought with it the birth of Macarena, a baby chital (Axis axis), at Terra Natura Benidorm. This is the first birth of the year that we welcome in our facilities. The calf has remained hidden among the rocks in its meadow for the first few days, although it can now be seen with its mother and the rest of the herd in its enclosure in the Asia area.

In this species, the mothers usually hide the babies when they are born to avoid possible predators and protect them from them, so they remain immobile practically all day long. The zoo keepers of Terra Natura Benidorm did not expect births of this species to happen until late January or early February, coinciding with the low temperatures as has happened on other occasions. But it seems that, on this occasion, the birth has been brought forward.

Our vets have carried out an initial visual check on Macarena to check that the baby chital is in perfect condition. Then, they proceeded to identify her with an eartag, a badge that is placed on her left ear when they are females and on her right ear when they are males. They also administered an intravenous vitamin complex to strengthen the animal and dewormed it orally.

The chital live in herds formed by the adult female and her babies, as it is a gregarious species. The herds are dominated by females. At the moment we have a group of chitalas made up of 46 specimens in total.

This species, as a curiosity, is capable of emitting sounds reminiscent of dog barking. Males can reach up to 90 centimetres in height and females up to 70 centimetres. Males weigh around 70 kilos and females around 45 kilos.