Northern Pudu
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| Northern Pudu | ||||||||||||||
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| Pudu mephistophiles (de Winton, 1896) |
The Northern Pudu (Pudu mephistophiles) is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Cervidae family.
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[edit] Range
This deer is found in the northern Andes Mountains - Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru[2].
[edit] Appearance
Small, stocky and quiet, it has a small rounded body, delicate legs, the antlers are short simple spikes. The Northern Pudu's coat is dark brown in colour, thick and dense, offering good protection from the harsh habitat in which it lives. The ears are small and rounded, and the tail is short.
[edit] Measurements
Head & Body Length - 60 to 80 cm
Shoulder Height - up to 35 cm
Tail length - 2 to 3 cm
Weight - 8 to 10 kilograms
Slightly larger than the Southern Pudu, the world's smallest species of deer.
[edit] Behaviour
The Northern Pudu feeds in the wet forest undergrowth, eating ferns and leaves from young trees. Because of it's incredibly moist diet, the northern pudu, has to drink only very occasionally. Dung is dropped in large communal piles by groups of pudus, possibly to mark territory.
[edit] Conservation Status
The northern pudu is now in danger of extinction, this is mainly because of habitat destruction, predation (mainly by dogs) and competition from introduced European deer species.
[edit] Source
- ^ Barrio, J. & Tirira, D. (2008). Pudu mephistophiles. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 10 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of vulnerable.
- ^ Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200325.
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