Pudu Deer
The smallest species of deer in the world is the Pudu and they are really cute to looking In fact, their size is part of the reason why people take such a keen interest in them. They are just over a foot tall when they are fully grown. They males do grow antlers but due to the small body size of these animals they are only several inches in length.
They weigh from 26 to 30 pounds when they are fully grown with the males being larger than the females. The have a reddish brown coloring on their bodies with the face being a deeper color than the rest of the body. Their fur is long and coarse which is different from what most deer species offer.
Pudu Distribution
These deer live in areas that offer them a warm climate including Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. The live in the dense forest areas but often come out to the open plains in order to find food.
Pudu Behavior
Pudu Deer in a natural habitat setting. They seem to be very secretive in their movements in order to reduce the risk of predators finding them. They are known to live a solitary life though other than for mating purposes and for raising their young. They leave huge piles of dung though as a way of marking their territory.
Pudu Feeding
Due to the short structure of the Pudu Deer they have to feed from sources very close to the ground. They love to find fruit that grows seasonally around their natural habitat. They also feed on leaves and twigs from plants and lower branches of trees.
Pudu Reproduction
The Pudu Deer mate in the fall and it takes about 210-220 days for the young to be born afterwards. Only one fawn is born at a time due to the very small bodies of the females. While the young are very small at birth, weighing about three pounds, they will be their full size by the time they are three months old.
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