The article will talk about one amazing animal - a small deer. This genus was first described in 1850 by the naturalist John Edward Gray.
The name of the small exotic deer is pudu, which means “the people of southern Chile”. They have one more name - Chilean mountain goats. This is due to the fact that these animals live on the slopes of the greatest Andes.
Before we talk about poods, we’ll briefly introduce deer.
General information about deer
These animals spread quite widely on almost all continents. Only in the Arctic there are none. They live in forests, tundra, forest-steppes and steppes. The color of the deer perfectly hides it from enemies, and its natural caution, excellent eyesight and keen sense of smell allow it to hide in the thickets long before the person approaches.
Deer species differ in their habitat, size, coat color and shape of horns. The deer family consists of 3 subfamilies, consisting of 51 species and 19 genera.
The following are known among deer: the largest red deer, the rare white species (inhabits Siberia), the American species (white-tailed), Siberian deer (caribou), etc. Among all these varieties, there is an unusual pudu deer.
Description of pudu deer
If you first see this animal, it is not clear that this is a deer. Everyone is used to being tall, handsome, and important. These animals are associated with greatness, nobility and speed. And the pudu deer is completely different from its counterparts - it is very small and, accordingly, runs slowly. Therefore, as a prey, it comes across more often than other species.
The length of the pood is up to 93 centimeters, the height is about 35 cm, and the body weight does not exceed 11 kilograms. The squat build, neck and head are short. Their appearance is more reminiscent of Mazamas (mammals of the deer family living in the forests of South and Central America) than deer. The back of the pudu is arched, the rounded shape of the ears is short, covered with fur. Small horns grow only up to 10 centimeters, and, in addition, they are non-branching. Among the crest of hair on the forehead, they are almost invisible. Deer hair is thick, darkish-gray-brown or reddish-brown with dim light spots. The belly is a reddish hue.
Varieties
There are 2 species in the genus of pudu deer:
- Northern pudas, whose lifestyle has not been completely studied, live in Ecuador (first spotted here on mountain sites), Northern Peru and Colombia.
- Southern pudes living in Chile and in Western Argentina.
Externally, these species are almost indistinguishable. It should only be noted that the northern species of pudu have no tails.
Habitat
Once this little deer lived in many countries of Latin America. The life of an exotic animal could be observed in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the Andes. Today it is a very rare deer, and therefore fell into the lists of the International Red Book.
Mostly pudu deer now live in South America - on the island of Chilos and in Chile. They are distributed in small quantities in southern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and in the western parts of Argentina.
A large number of animals from many areas of their former habitat disappeared due to the active hunting of people and their loss of habitat.
About abundance
Animals are on the verge of extinction.
Southern poods are easier to adapt to living in captivity compared to northern ones, but earlier and second, however, small populations were kept in zoos. According to 2010 data, about 100 southern individuals at that time lived in European and American zoos.
Today, these animals are protected in various national parks. Pudu deer can completely disappear due to active deforestation by people of tropical forests - animal habitats. Roads and tracks are being built in their place, where poods often fall under the wheels of cars. Their catch for keeping at home and for illegal sale is also observed. Many factors can be detrimental to very vulnerable deer.
Lifestyle
The habitats of pudu are dense thickets of forests at heights reaching 4 thousand meters. They feed mainly on shrubs, herbs, seeds, leaves and fruits. They can live alone, in couples and groups.
In the daytime, animals hide in the thickets of shrubs, and when night falls they leave their shelters to feed themselves. More often they eat on the seashore, where there are fucus algae, which are the basis of their diet. In summer, pudu deer are cautious, and in the winter, during a period of food shortage, they can also approach people's dwellings. There, these small animals become victims of dogs.
The life of a little deer is not very long - only about ten years.
