A close-up of a juvenile antelope with reddish-brown fur and large expressive eyes, standing indoors in neutral tones. 0:54

Baby antelope Thamos is too light for the scales

Thamos is a newborn dik-dik, a kind of antelope, and when the keepers at Chester Zoo tried to weigh him, his weight did not even register. more

He has had a rough start. Thamos lost his mother the day after he was born, so the zookeepers stepped in to raise him by hand.

A small deer-like animal with large ears and dark eyes is held gently in a person's hands. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
After losing his mother, Thamos is raised by hand at Chester Zoo.

Weighing newborns is routine at the zoo, a number for the records. With Thamos there was nothing to write down, because he was too light for the scales. Standing up, he is about 7 inches tall, shorter than a school ruler.

A small brown animal with large dark eyes looks straight at the camera. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Thamos stands about 7 inches tall, and the zoo's scales can't read his weight.

His keepers feed him by hand and do all they can to keep him healthy and safe. The zoo says he is starting to find his feet and gets stronger by the day. If that keeps up, they hope he can join the other dik-diks at Chester Zoo within a few months.

A close-up of a juvenile antelope with reddish-brown fur and large expressive eyes, standing indoors in neutral tones. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Thamos is a newborn dik-dik, a kind of antelope, and when the keepers at Chester Zoo tried to weigh him, his weight did not even register.

For now, his big job is learning to stand on his own. From the look of those tiny legs, he's getting pretty good at it.