Southern Pudu, The World's Smallest And Most Adorable Deer, Born in NYC's Queens Zoo
New York is a big city, but it must seem even larger to a newly born southern pudú deer, the smallest deer in the world.
On Monday, the Queens Zoo, located in the borough’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park, announced that an extremely rare pudú deer doe was born on May 3. The still unnamed pudú deer weighed only a single pound when it was born just two months ago. When it reaches adulthood, it may end up weighing up to 20 pounds with a height of 12 to 14 inches, far under the size of a typical American deer.
“She’s adjusting really well,” Barbara Russo, a spokeswoman for the Wildlife Conservation Society, told the New York Post. “She’s very cute and still nursing. She will eventually transition to solid foods.”
Currently, the baby pudú lives in the zoo's exhibit with her mother, Josephine, and father, Hamilton.
Southern pudú deer (Pudu puda) are native to South America, typically found in Chile and Argentina. The tiny deer, which are considered vulnerable but not endangered, are known for their keen ability to climb and jump. According to the Wall Street Journal, fewer than 10,000 southern pudú still exist in the world.
Their sister species, the northern pudú, can also be found in Columbia, Equador, and Peru.
In order to get a better idea of the tiny pudú deer’s size, check out this video of a one-day-old pudú at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Trust us, pudú deer are even more adorable when they move around.
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