Pudus may be the smallest deer in the world, but Bambu was tiny even by pudu standards when specialists rescued her.

Abandoned outside of Concepcion, Chile and extremely underweight, Bambu would have died without interference.

Already endangered and incredibly rare, a pudu’s biggest threats are illegal hunting, deforestation and disease. After recognizing her vulnerability, Bambu’s rescuers took her to San Sebastian University’s veterinary clinic to make sure she got the attention she deserved.

Veterinarians at the clinic have given her future a good deal of thought.

They admit that the two species that make up the genus Pudu are medical question marks: scientists just don’t have enough information on wild pudus to know how they compare to ones kept in captivity.

Releasing Bambu back into the wild once she’s grown could be risky, veterinarian Miguel Mancilla notes, because so much is still unknown about what diseases the tiny deer are susceptible to.(Source)


NOTE : The pudús are threatened due to the destruction of their rainforest habitat. The land is cleared for human development, cattle ranching, agriculture, logging, and exotic tree plantations. Habitat fragmentation and road accidents cause pudú deaths. They are taken from the wild as pets, as well as exported illegally. They are overhunted and killed for food by specially trained hunting dogs. The recently introduced red deer compete with pudús for food. Domestic dogs prey upon pudús and transfer parasites through contact. Pudús are very susceptible to diseases like bladder worms, lungworms, roundworms, and heartworms.(Wikipedia)


For now, at least, Bambu has been hand-fed back to health and is a happy, safe little fawn. Watch her story here: