Southern Pudu
Pudu puda
- Habitat: Dense bamboo understory of temperate rain forests, from sea level to 5,500 feet
- Range: Southern Chile and Argentina
- Natural Diet: Fruits, vegetation, grasses
- Status in the Wild: THREATENED
They are regularly provided with structural enrichment that motivate them to display species typical behavior
Fun Facts
- The southern pudu is the smallest deer in the world being a foot and half in height and almost 3 feet in length
- Unlike other species of deer, pudus are generally solitary by nature. Both males and females are highly territorial and mark their peripheral borders with dung piles
- They are brown in color which helps them camouflage them from their predators
- Only male pudus grown small horn like structures that can be called antlers
- Female pudu are sexually mature at 6 months of age
Southern pudu live in evergreen forests along the Chilean coastal range
Conservation Threats
The major threats are:
- habitat loss, conversion of forests to plantations, faulty agricultural practices, logging trees for firewood.
- Urbanization and attacks by invasive species such as dogs also has a detrimental influence on wild numbers
