Bio Facts: Pudu, Southern
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Common Name:
Southern Pudu
Scientific Name:
Pudu pudu
Family:
Cervidae
Order:
Artiodactyla
Class:
Mammalia
Range:
Chile and Argentina
Habitat:
Under story bush thickets, bamboo groves
Description:
The smallest of the deer family - Shoulder height – approximately 35-38 centimeters; weight – approximately 6-8 kilograms…Coat is reddish or dark brown with lighter sides, legs and feet. Fawns are spotted. Males have simple spike antlers about 7-10 centimeters in length.
Life Expectancy:
Up to 10 years in the wild and about 12 in captivity
Sexual Maturity:
Females in one year, males in the second year, gestation is 210 days
Diet:
In the wild, they feed on bark, buds, fruits and flowers. In the Zoo, they are fed carrot, sweet potato, green beans, greens, grain, and alfalfa hay.
Status:
Vulnerable IUCN and Endangered on the USFWS
Behaviors:
Group sizes are small, usually single or paired animals, sometimes in small groups of three.
Pudu are most active at twilight and dark. They are very wary, stopping often to listen and sniff for potential dangers. Reproduction is usually one fawn which is weaned after two months.
Antipredator Behavior: they slide through the dense thicket growth and rocks in zigzags to avoid foxes, wild cats like the kodkod, and humans.
They have been known to climb up onto fallen trees both to avoid predators and to use higher up food sources.
Adaptations:
Pudu use trails to feeding grounds and resting areas, marking trails with droppings, urine, and scent secretions front the preorbital and frontal glands.
Special Interest:
Pudus have caught the popular interest with mentions on animal programs, books, and web logs.
Conservation:
Threatening the pudu’s survival today is habitat destruction by logging and modification by grazing domestic stock. In addition, larger species of deer have been introduced to the pudu habitat. These larger species out compete their little relatives for food.
Jacksonville Zoo History:
Our pudus have bred and successfully raised offspring in the Emerald Forest Aviary
