Pudu is the world’s smallest deer species

Flushing, N.Y. – May 16, 2014 – A southern pudu fawn (Pudu puda,) was born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo.

Born on April 29, the female fawn weighed one pound at birth and could reach 20 pounds as an adult. The young deer is still nursing but will soon transition to a diet of fresh leaves, grain, kale, carrots and hay.

Pudu have extraordinary characteristics, including barking when they sense danger. Although small in stature, only 12 to 14 inches at the shoulder, pudu are excellent jumpers and sprinters.

What the pudu lacks in size, it makes up in strategy. They are generally shy and solitary, preferring to hide in thick vegetation. When chased, pudu run in a zig-zag pattern to escape predators including owls, foxes, pumas, and small cats.

The Queens Zoo breeds pudu as part of the Species Survival Program (SSP), a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability and demographic stability of animal populations in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Southern pudu are native to Chile and Argentina and are designated Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Using research and conservation practices, WCS is working in the pudu’s range countries to grapple with ways to curb habitat loss and other threats to pudu and other native wildlife.

CONTACT:
Barbara Russo – 917-494-5493; brusso@wcs.org
Max Pulsinelli – 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
Steve Fairchild – 718-220- 5189; sfairchild@wcs.org
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Queens Zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park in Queens. For further information, call 718-271-1500 or visit www.queenszoo.com.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; facebook.com/TheWCS; youtube.com/user/WCSMedia; follow: @theWCS.

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