A Java mouse-deer has been born at the Warsaw ZOO Aviary.

Warsaw’s Java mouse-deer pair Linda and Arnold has surely given the Zoo a wonderful gift in time for the holidays: On the 2nd of December their little baby came into the world. The fawn currently measures 10cm tall and is the couple’s first baby. It’s sex remains unknown.

The lively fawn explores its enclosure with great interest, but never strays too far from mom. During the first days of life it is completely dependent on her milk. A hooved animal, it is physically quite independent – only a short while after being born the fawn was running around on its tiny legs, following its mom around its habitat. Linda is proving to be a wonderful mother, and very caring toward her baby. Arnold is also keeping a keen fatherly eye on his offspring.

For the first time in history, the birth of the Philippine mouse-deer was recorded on camera. The baby was born at ZOO Wroclaw on the night of November 10 this year, around 2:24am.

A Philippine Mouse Deer has been born in the UK for the first time. The tiny female Mouse Deer (one of the smallest hoofed animals in the world) was born to mum Rita and dad Ramos, at Chester Zoo, on November 16.

This is the latest addition to a special European-wide endangered species breeding programme, designed in response to the deforestation of its Asian habitat. The animals are also poached for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in parts of the Philippines.

Curator of mammals Tim Rowlands said, “Our newborn deer is incredibly small – similar in size to a Christmas bauble on tiny little legs, weighing just 430 grams!

“But, while this new arrival may be small in stature, it’s big in terms of importance. It’s the very first time the animal has been bred in the UK and to break new ground like this with a mammal species is really quite rare.

“The Philippine Mouse Deer is an endangered species. It’s highly threatened by massive deforestation in South East Asia and so, it’s great news that our newcomer will add valuable new bloodlines to the conservation breeding programme in zoos. It’s vitally important that we work to ensure these wonderful animals do not disappear for good.”

Photo Credits: Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is only one of only seven institutions in the whole of Europe to care for the charming species.

Conservationists from the zoo are also working to protect habitat in areas of South East Asia where the Mouse Deer live.

The Philippine Mouse Deer (Tragulus nigricans) is listed as “Endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species is in continuing decline. It is subject to poaching for food and affected by habitat loss, as its forest home is converted to oil palm plantations.

Contrary to its common name, the Philippine Mouse Deer does not belong to the deer family Cervidae, but is a member of the chevrotain family.

Adult mouse deer stand at just 18cm tall and rarely weigh more than 1kg.

More pics below the fold!

A tiny Lesser Mouse-Deer was born on November 1 at the Prague Zoo.  This species is the smallest of all known hoofed mammals.  Adults have bodies about the same size as rabbits, have legs the size of pencils, and weigh only about four pounds.

Photo Credit:  Prague Zoo

Mouse-Deer fawns usually stand within 30 minutes of birth, an important survival tactic for these leaf-eating animals.  Females will safely tuck their fawns into the brush and leave them hidden while they go out to feed.  Fawns are weaned when three to four months old, and are sexually mature at about six months.

This fawn is the second born at the Prague Zoo since they acquired Lesser Mouse-Deer in 2011.  Also known as Lesser Malay Chevrotains, this species is found across Southeast Asia.  The wild population is not well studied, but for now, Lesser Mouse-Deer are not under significant threat.

Natura Artis Magistra, in the Netherlands, is home to a newly born Java Mouse Deer. The Java Mouse Deer (Tragulus javanicus) is a species of even-toed ungulate from the family Tragulidae. At maturity it reaches the size of a rabbit, making it one of the smallest ungulates on earth.

Photo Credits: Edwin Butter / Artis Royal Zoo

Mouse Deer are native to forests of South and Southeast Asia, with a single species in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. The species residing at Artis is native to the Indonesian island of Java. Although other Mouse Deer in Southeast Asia are very similar to the Javan species, researchers determined there are enough differentials to consider the Java Mouse Deer a completely separate species.

Although called a deer, they do not grow antlers. Both sexes have elongated canine teeth, but they are especially prominent in males, where they project out on either side of the lower jaw. These teeth become effective weapons for the males in fights over females. The Asian species typically weigh between 1.5 and 17.6 lbs (0.7 and 8.0 kg).

Java Mouse Deer are primarily herbivores. Their diet consists primarily of that which is found on the ground in the dense vegetation they prefer to inhabit.

Mouse Deer are timid and solitary, but they often live in pairs. The young fawns are weaned at about three months of age and reach sexual maturity between five and ten months.

The Java Mouse Deer is currently classified as “Data Deficient” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The data deficiency is due to the inconclusiveness regarding the distinct separation of the Tragulus species, in addition to the lack of information on Tragulus javanicus. Although listed as “Data Deficient”, it is highly probable that a decline in the number of Java Mouse Deer, in the wild, is occurring and the IUCN status could easily change to “Vulnerable” in the near future.

Not much bigger than a Sharpie marker, a baby Greater Malayan Chevrotain was born at the Topeka Zoo on October 16. 

This fawn, born to parents Nabisco and Wilma, is the second ever born at the Topeka Zoo. 

Photo Credit:  Wrylie Guthrie (1, 4); Topeka Zoo (2,3,5) 

With legs about the size of pencils, adult Chevrotains weigh only 10-13 pounds.  Males have small curved tusks.  This species is sometimes called the Mouse Deer, though they are not true deer.

These ungulates are native to Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, where they dwell in forests and feed on fruit and berries.  Threats from overhunting and deforestation have caused this species to decline in the wild.

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 [email protected]

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:

A 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