Last week, Zoo Zurich welcomed one of the world's smallest hoofed animals into the world. Mouse Deer, also known as Chevrotains, are neither mouse nor deer. Nine of the 10 extant Mouse Deer species are found in South and Southeast Asia, with one other species inhabiting Central and West Africa. The French word Chevrotain can be translated as "little goat".
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This tiny baby Mouse Deer was born on Valentines Day at the Berlin Zoo. It fits perfectly into a man's hand. These shy animals are actually are the smallest hoofed mammals in the world, and are members of the animal family that includes pigs, antelopes, sheep, goats, and hippos! This baby will grow to a maximum weight of only about 5 pounds (2.5 kg) in adulthood, and its legs will be no bigger than the circumference of a pencil!
Mouse Deer reach sexual maturity very early - at age five to six months. A female may give birth to a single fawn at any time of year. As is the norm with hoofed animals, newborn fawns are precocial and stand within thirty minutes of being born. The does wean their fawns at around twelve weeks. In the wild they roam mostly at night within a certain home range amid forest undergrowth, feeding on the leaves, roots and tender shoots found there, aided by their long tongue!
Photo Credit: Zoo Berlin and cfrey@alice.de
The birth of this baby at the Berlin Zoo was coordinated within the EEP (European Endangered Species Programs). In it's native home, Southeast Asia, the Mouse Deer is hunted, even though they are so small and have hardly any meat. With the good care found in a zoo, these animals can live for up to 10-12 years.
See more pictures after the fold:
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Mouse Deer has given birth to an itty-bitty baby at the Zurich Zoo. Less than 22 inches (55 centimeters) long as adults,
Mouse Deer are one of the smallest hoofed animal species. They are not really deer at all, but belong
to their own unique family of hoofed mammals.
At
first, the baby Mouse Deer hid beneath plants in its enclosure, but then began
to follow its mother around the exhibit.
The baby’s sex is not yet known.
Mouse Deer have no horns or antlers, but males have long, dagger-like canine teeth that are used as weapons in conflicts with other males. Adults weigh only about 5 pounds (2.5 kg) and have legs about the size of a pencil. Amazingly, the tongue is 5 inches (2 cm) long – long enough for the Mouse Deer to wipe its eyes!
Mouse Deer feed primarily on leaves, shoots, and fruit, and live alone or in pairs. Their tiny size allows them to easily pass through the dense underbrush of the forest. Mouse Deer are eaten by people and sometimes kept as pets in their native Southeast Asian range.
Photo Credit: Zurich Zoo
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A tiny deer at Paignton Zoo has given birth just months after she lay critically ill on the operating table. A long and complicated illness required the tiny lesser Malay mouse deer to undergo multiple rounds of general anaesthesia and surgery. Due to the hard work of zoo vets and a little luck, the tiny deer overcame it's illness and on June 19th gave birth to an even tinier little fawn. Mouse deer are the smallest members of the animal family that includes pigs, hippos, camels, deer, antelopes, sheep and goats. Adults are 45 to 55 centimetres long (18 to 22 inches) and can live for about 12 years.
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