Post by Craig Newberry, Communications
Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo
We are welcoming the newest member of pudu family, a tiny male fawn. Pudus are the smallest deer species in the world and are native to South America.
The fawn, which has yet to be named, was born May 5 to parents Ted and Maggie. The birth is the pudus' third offspring together since they were paired under the Pudu Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species.
The fawn's father, Ted, is nearly 6 years old and arrived at the zoo in 2017. The mother, Maggie, 5, came in 2018. Their first offspring, Chile, was born in 2020 and now lives at the Queens Zoo in New York. The second offspring born last year, Ande, remains at Woodland Park Zoo.
“The fawn and mother are healthy and bonding well. We’re confident their bonding will continue as the fawn gets more comfortable exploring his habitat,” says Shawn Pedersen, co-curator at Woodland Park Zoo. The pudus live in the zoo’s Temperate Forest habitat. The best chance to see the fawn is around 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when he’s most active.
The fawn, which has yet to be named, was born May 5 to parents Ted and Maggie. The birth is the pudus' third offspring together since they were paired under the Pudu Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species.
The fawn's father, Ted, is nearly 6 years old and arrived at the zoo in 2017. The mother, Maggie, 5, came in 2018. Their first offspring, Chile, was born in 2020 and now lives at the Queens Zoo in New York. The second offspring born last year, Ande, remains at Woodland Park Zoo.
“The fawn and mother are healthy and bonding well. We’re confident their bonding will continue as the fawn gets more comfortable exploring his habitat,” says Shawn Pedersen, co-curator at Woodland Park Zoo. The pudus live in the zoo’s Temperate Forest habitat. The best chance to see the fawn is around 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when he’s most active.
Pudu Fun Facts!
- Woodland Park Zoo is home to the southern pudu species. It lives in the lower Andes of Chile and southwest Argentina.
- The small deer reaches only 14 to 18 inches high at the shoulder and weighs 14 to 30 pounds.
- Pudu live in temperate rain forests and favor dense underbrush and bamboo thickets, which provide good cover from predators. The pudu can easily move through dense vegetation and among rocks to escape predators such as puma, fox and feral dogs.
- The pudu is listed as near-threatened due to hunting and a rapidly growing human population in the region that is leading to the loss of natural habitat due to clearing of land for agriculture, logging, and other human activities.
 |
| A snuggly little bed, photo by Animal Keeper Megan |
Comments
Post a Comment