World's smallest pudu born in Argentine biological park

Earlier this month, the world's smallest endangered Pudu deer was born at a biological park in Argentina, giving scientists and conservationists a rare opportunity to study and collect data on the mysterious little animal.

Weighing just 1.21 kg, this fragile, white-spotted pudu was named Lenga , after a tree endemic to the Patagonian Andes forests of Chile and Argentina.

'This is a very mysterious animal, not easy to see,' said Maximiliano Krause, Lenga's caretaker at the Temaiken Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to wildlife conservation.

A pudu deer next to its mother. (Photo: Reuters).

Lenga spends his days exploring the park with his mother Chalten and father Nicolino, Krause said. Lenga breastfeeds for the first two months until he can eat grass. After that, Lenga loses the white spots that help camouflage the fawns in their environment.

The variegated coloring helps the tiny fawns hide from both daytime and nighttime predators, Krause says. By about a year old, pudus develop antlers and reach 10cm in length.

The Pudu is one of the smallest deer species in the world , growing to just 50 cm tall and weighing around 12 kg.

Pudus are elusive animals, running in zigzags when chased by predators. These small deer also face threats from wild dogs and other animals introduced into southern Argentina and Chile.

Lenga pudu deer. (Photo: Reuters).

There are only about 10,000 pudus left and they are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

"The birth of this pudu is obviously a joy for us. This gives us hope of saving them from extinction," said Cristian Guillet, director of zoological activities at the Temaiken Foundation.

The Lenga fawn will help scientists study and collect data that will help with conservation efforts for the pudu and other deer species like the huemul, Guillet said.