New York zoo introduces tiny pudu deer

NEW YORK: One of the world’s smallest deer species – pudu deer – is making its debut at the Queens Zoo in New York City.

Pudus are tiny South American deer, with grown animals weighing only as much as a watermelon. And now a pudu deer fawn is making its debut at a zoo in New York City.

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The tiny South American deer weighed just under 1 kilogram when it was born June, said the New Yorker Wildlife Conservation Society in a statement.

The southern pudu fawn is expected to weigh 7 to 9 kilograms as an adult — the weight of a large watermelon.

Pudus are listed as “near threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They are native to Chile and Argentina, where its population is decreasing because of factors including habitat destruction and invasive species.

The Queens Zoo breeds southern pudus in collaboration with other zoos in an effort to maintain genetically diverse populations, the conservation society said.

Eight pudu fawns have been born there since 2005.

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The newborn fawn will share a Queens Zoo habitat with its parents.