The world’s tiniest deer species are these tiny deer, about the size of a domestic dog.
There are two varieties of the pudu, both of which are native to South America.
The northern pudu lives in Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia, while the southern pudu lives in Argentina and Chile.
They stand between 12 and 16 inches tall.
Like the majority of other animals that graze, pudus are vegetarians who consume fallen fruit, grass, leaves, and seeds.
They can reach foliage by standing on their back legs or, in contrast to their larger deer cousins, by climbing trees when necessary.
Pudus are cautious animals who frequently keep an eye out for any potential threats.They run in a zigzag pattern when they are chased, making it harder for larger predators to catch them.
When necessary, they are also adept at climbing and jumping.
When pudus mate, usually in the fall, before giving birth to one or two fawns in the spring, they can only be seen together.
Male pudus are distinguished by their antlers, in the same way that their larger deer cousins are.
Their typical lifespan is 8 to 10 years, but this is at risk from a variety of external factors like habitat loss and diseases and parasites brought on by domestic dogs.
