SEATTLE — Cute alert! Woodland Park Zoo welcomed a new baby pudu that weighed in at just 1 ½ pounds.
The species is native to South America and is the world’s smallest deer.
The baby, which was born on July 11, and his parents, Ted and Maggie, all are healthy, the zoo reported.
Even when fully grown, pudus only reach about 15 inches tall.
“This is the second fawn for mom and dad, and as expected, everyone is doing well,” said Shawn Pedersen, an animal care manager at Woodland Park Zoo. “Baby is nursing and bonding with mom, and the fawn has met all of the healthy benchmarks at its neonatal exam. We’ll continue to keep an eye on the new family, but everything is going great.”
The zoo says the baby, which has yet to be named, is especially important to the future of the species. There are only about 33 pudus in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ population. Most of them are female.
The baby’s parents were paired under the Pudu Species Survival Plan, a cooperative, conservation breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species.
The pudu family can been seen at the zoo’s Temperate Forest habitat, right next to the flamingos.
For more information on Woodland Park Zoo, visit www.zoo.org.