The world’s smallest deer is even cuter when it’s just a baby, and the Wildlife Conservation Society recently provided photographic evidence of this fact. How can you not fawn over the above photo of a pint-sized fawn with white fur freckles?
The little guy in the picture was born a few weeks ago at the Queens Zoo in New York City. According to ABC News , he’s a baby pudu, which is the world’s smallest deer species . However, his small stature isn’t keeping him from becoming a big star — the internet just adores the deer that looks like a cross between Bambi and a bunny, and his picture is popping up all over Twitter. Luckily, he’s extremely photogenic. In the photo at the top of the page, he strikes a pose by holding up a tiny hoof. And in the picture below, he instinctively knows to look back at the camera after he starts to walk away from his adoring public.
This tiny baby deer is huge on cuteness http://t.co/7dBj5UMFHG pic.twitter.com/rUbGVCaJEb
— Newsday (@Newsday) June 8, 2015
The pudu was only six inches long and six inches tall when he was born on May 12, and he weighed only a pound. The world’s smallest deer don’t get much bigger — adults are usually 12 to 14 inches tall at the shoulder. According to the New York Daily News , pudu are an endangered species, but the Wildlife Conservation Society has had luck breeding the adorable animals at the Queens Zoo — the male fawn in the above pictures is the third pudu to be born at the facility and put on display for public. Just like his larger cousins, he’ll lose his pretty spots as he gets older. He’ll trade in his natural camouflage coat for a pair of tiny curved antlers.
The world’s smallest deer are excellent hiders, and they try to avoid predators by laying low in the thick brush of the rainforests in their South American habitat. Pudu are also talented jumpers, and they can move pretty fast. They bark when they’re faced with a threat, but it’s doubtful that their cute little squeaks scare many predators away. In the video below, you can see another baby pudu frolicking in the grass and exploring her surroundings.
The fawn in the video is just 5-days-old, and she was born at the Detroit Zoo a few years ago.
If the world’s smallest deer doesn’t provide enough cuteness to brighten up your Monday, the Inquisitr previously shared a video of a deer and dog playing tag that you might want to check out. Surely watching man’s best friend and Bambi having such a blast will put a smile on your face.
[Image credit: Wildlife Conservation Society /Queens Zoo]