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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 17.8 years (captivity) Observations: Males normally do not reproduce until they are about 2 years old (http://www.zoo.org/). It has been reported that these animals may live up to 21 years in captivity (Ronald Nowak 1999), which is plausible but has not been confirmed. One 17.8 year old specimen was still alive in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005).
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Morphology

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Southern pudu are the smallest deer in the world, ranging from 600 to 825 mm in total body length and with a shoulder height from 250 to 430 mm. The coat is composed of long coarse hair. The body color is a buffy agouti pattern. The middle back is a reddish brown color, while the face, outer surface of the ears, narial patch, chin and under side are reddish. The fawns have a white spotted coat. The body is low to the ground with short thick legs. The eyes and the ears are small compared with the body size. The tail is almost non-exsistent. Males have short, less than 100 mm, spike antlers. (Nowak, 1997)

Range length: 600 to 825 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: ornamentation

Average mass: 10000 g.

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Life Expectancy

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Average lifespan
Status: captivity:
12.5 years.

Average lifespan
Status: wild:
10.0 years.

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Habitat

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The climate in the habitat of P. puda consists of a short dry summer and a mild wet winter. The yearly rainfall is 74-150 inches. Pudu prefer dense underbrush and bamboo groves because they offer protection from predators. They can be found anywhere from sea level to 3,200 meters elevation. (Grzimek, 1990)

Range elevation: 3200 (high) m.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Distribution

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Pudu puda is found in the rainforests in the temperate zones of Argentina and Chile.

Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Trophic Strategy

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Southern pudu eat fallen fruit, ferns, vines and small tree foliage. Pudus move slowly as they look for food, often standing up on their hind legs to test the wind. They reach food by standing on their hind legs and jumping on fallen trees. They also may press down on ferns and saplings until they break off. Pudu bend over bamboo shoots and walk across them while they are horizontal to feed on upper foliage. They feed on the bark of young saplings approximately 6 to 12 inches off the ground. Pudu can go for long periods without drinking water. They may obtain sufficient water from their food. (Grzimek,1990)

Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; fruit

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Frugivore )

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Associations

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Pudu puda are very susceptible to parasites, a problem made worse by their increasingly frequent contact with domestic dogs. The most common parasites include bladder worms, lung worms, and various types of round worms. (Grzimek, 1990)

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Conservation Status

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Pudu are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The main factors that are threatening P. puda include the destruction of habitat, the introduction of roe and fallow deer from Europe, and domestic dogs. Pudu cannot compete for food with the roe and fallow deer. The population of puda has stabilized in Chile as a result of the tapering off of habitat destruction. The Game Preservation Director of Chile's Natural Forest Administration issued a statement saying that P. puda will survive, as long as its habitat does. Pudu puda is not currently threatened with immediate extinction, but its future is uncertain. Despite a study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund, the number of P. puda in the wild is still unknown. (Grzimek,1990)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Behavior

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Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Reproduction

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Pudu mate in the fall and give birth in the spring, from November to January. The gestation period is approximately 202 to 223 days. Only one fawn is born a year. At birth the young weigh less than one kilogram. It takes three months for the fawn to become full sized, and six months for females and eighteen months for males to reach sexual maturity. (Nowak, 1997)

Breeding interval: Southern pudu breed once yearly.

Breeding season: Mating occurs in the fall.

Range number of offspring: 1 (high) .

Average number of offspring: 1.

Range gestation period: 202 to 223 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 6 months.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 18 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous

Average birth mass: 900 g.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male:
320 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female:
274 days.

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Pollard, S. 1999. "Pudu puda" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pudu_puda.html
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Biology

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Southern pudu are solitary animals and only come together during the breeding season, or 'rut' (8), in April and May (austral autumn) (4). Females typically bare one fawn each year, from November to January (austral spring), after a gestation period of approximately seven months (7) (8). Young are weaned at two months, fully sized at three, and sexually mature at six months for females, eight to twelve for males (6). Offspring may remain with their mother for eight to twelve months before becoming independent (8). This deer is active both day and night, but mostly during the late afternoon, evening and morning, when it forages for leaves, twigs, bark, buds, fruit and seeds. Due to their small size, individuals often have to stand upright on their hind legs or jump onto fallen tree trunks in order to reach higher vegetation (6). This species navigates through the dense vegetation via a network of well-trodden trails, pathways and small tunnels, which lead to feeding and resting areas within their 16 to 26 hectare home range (4) (7). Dung piles are often formed next to these trails, usually near resting places (6).
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Conservation

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Its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), helps protect the southern pudu by banning all international trade in the species, but hunting nevertheless continues and still poses a serious threat (5) (8). Fortunately, the population in Chile has stabilised due to a reduction in the rate of habitat destruction. Pudu populations exist in a number of national parks which need sufficient resources to enforce protection and create effective management plans (8). An international captive breeding programme has been developed for the southern pudu, although there are no plans as yet to release captive-bred individuals back into the wild (8).
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Description

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The deer belonging to the Pudu genus are the smallest deer in the world (4), so tiny that people have even captured them for pets, thereby contributing to their decline in the wild (5).  Similar in appearance to the northern pudu (Pudu mephistopheles), but slightly smaller, the southern pudu has a short, glossy, reddish-brown to dark-brown coat, with underparts and legs slightly lighter, and lips and insides of the ears orangish (4) (6). Fawns are spotted with white, probably for camouflage. With a round body and short legs, the low-slung form is similar to many small forest ungulates, and thought to be an adaptation to slipping more easily through dense undergrowth and bamboo thickets (7). The eyes and ears are small and the tail is very short (4). Males sport short, simple spiked antlers that are shed annually in July (6).
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Habitat

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The southern pudu prefers temperate rainforest with dense underbrush and bamboo thickets, which offer a good degree of cover from predators. However, it will occasionally venture out into more open habitats to feed (4) (8). Found on high mountainsides up to 1,700 metres above sea level, but also at much lower altitudes and along the coast (4) (6).
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Range

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Found in the lower Andes of Chile and Argentina (4).
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Status

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Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1), and listed on Appendix I of CITES (3).
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Threats

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The main threat to the southern pudu, which once ranged far more extensively across Chile, is destruction of its temperate forest habitat for cattle ranching, logging and other human developments (5) (8). Habitat fragmentation and loss through conversion of forest into open lands and exotic tree plantations poses a big problem to the survival of the southern pudu, as do road accidents and hunting. There is a technique used whereby feral or unleashed dogs are released into the countryside that specialise in hunting pudus (9) (10) (11). Other threats include the introduction of alien species, such as red deer from Europe, with which the pudu now have to compete for food (7). Domestic dogs may also prey upon this small deer (7), and transmit parasites, to which the southern pudu is particularly susceptible (8).
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Distribution

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The southern pudú (Pudu puda) can be found in southern Chile and adjacent areas of southwestern Argentina. Populations exist at low density in hill and lowland temperate rainforests (Miller 1973). In Chile, the species’ range is bounded in the north by the Maule province, and the Strait of Magellan in the south, extending between S 35° to S 49° (Wemmer 1998) (Meier et al 2007). In Argentina, its range extends from the southwest region of the Neuquén Province and to the southwest region of the Santa Cruz Province, along the Andean foothills, or from S 39° to S 43°. Los Alerces National Park has also been put forth as the definitive southern border of Pudu puda’s Argentinian range (Ramilo 2001). The southern pudú occupies lower elevations than the northern pudú, living between sea level and 1700m, below the snow line (Miller et al 1973). Maximum altitudes ranging from 1000m (Hershkovitz 1982) to 2000m have also been reported. Chile’s Chiloe Island boasts a population of southern púdu, as do both primary and secondary forests on the Llanquihue Province mainland (Wemmer 1998).

A number of parks and protected areas are host to populations of southern púdu. These include Los Alerces, Anexo Puelo, Lago Puelo, Los Arrayanes, and Nahuel Huapi National Parks in Argentina, and Vicente Perez Rosales, Conguillo, Los Paraguma, Nahwelbuta, Laguna San Rafael, Puyehue, and Pirihueico National Parks in Chile (Wemmer 1998). Presence of Pudu puda in many of these parks, including Lanín and Los Arrayanes National Parks has been reported by some sources but ultimately remains unconfirmed by any others (Heinomen et al 1997). Historical records dating back to the 1800s argue for the presence of the southern pudú on the Huemul Peninsula, and other locations outside of their current range (Ramilo 2001). This would indicate a significant shrinking of the Pudu puda’s geographic distribution.

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Conservation

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the southern pudú as “vulnerable” with criteria A2cd+3cd, indicating a ≥ 30% decline in population size in the last 12 years, largely based on decreasing habitat size and quality, and predation by dogs. Another ≥30% decrease in population is expected for the next 12 years. Local site management, captive breeding, education, sub-national legislation, and national enforcement are all listed by the IUCN as required conservation actions. The southern pudú is listed under Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a status reserved for the “most endangered” species which are currently threatened with extinction. This listing severely prohibits all commercial trade of Pudu puda specimens, with trade allowed in only exceptional, non-commercial cases.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) does not list either species of púdu under its conservation provisions, although migratory behavior has been reported by multiple sources (Vidal et al 2012) (Yepes 1943). This evidence for pudú migration remains unconfirmed, however, and the southern púdu likewise remains absent from the CMS’ protected species list.

The southern pudú is said to be easier to maintain in captivity than the northern variety (Benirschke 2004). Argentina operated a captive breeding program for the southern pudú out of Nahuel Huapi National Park from 1978 to 1990 (Meier et al 2007). When this program was closed down, 10 pudú were successfully reintroduced on Victoria Island in Lake Nahuel Huapi, where a population persists to this day. Chile’s Concepcion University also leads an international captive breeding program.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has additionally organized the Species Survival Program (SSP), which involves the captive breeding of pudús at various international zoos as an attempt to improve the genetic viability of zoo-kept populations. This program does not seem to plan on reintroducing any pudú back to the wild, to improve those populations, but the WCS is also working directly to curb Chilean and Argentinian habitat loss. 135 individual pudú currently exist in zoos worldwide, according to the International Studbook distributed by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, compared to the 12 individuals reported in 1978 (Hershkovitz 1982). However, illegal collecting for zoos and other private collections has been implicated in the decline of wild Pudu puda populations (Wemmer 1998), so the utility of these captive pudú from a conservation standpoint remains to be seen.

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Habitat and Ecology

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The Southern pudu (Pudu puda) is one of the the smallest deer in the world, with adults commonly weighing less than 10kg. There are two species of pudu­­the Northern pudu and the Southern pudu. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the Southern Pudu puda inhabits the humid, dense areas of temperate forest­­usually second­growth or previously disturbed forests­­in Chile and Argentina. Their relatively small size­­having an average shoulder height of 40 cm and head­body length of 80cm as adults­­ is considered an adaptation that allows the pudu to slip through the dense undergrowth that the species is endemic to. For food resources, the pudu has many options; it can subsist on grass, shrubs, vines, seeds, twigs, bark, and corn as well as avelianas fruit, forb species, flowers, new leaves, and shoots of native trees. Since pudus do not consume other animals and consume only plant life, they are primary consumers and therefore are on the second trophic level of their ecosystem. In Argentina the pudu is found in the National Parks, including Lenin, Nahuel Huapi, Lago Puelo, and Los Alerces. It is usually a solitary animal except when young accompany mothers. The Northern Pudu, on the other hand, lives in Peru, Ecuador, and Columbia. There are limited studies of pudu as they live in “almost impenetrable underbrush, made in lowlands from tiaca, avellano, chilco, maqui, and luma, and in high latitudes from quila bamboo,” (Bubenik, Eugenia, et al. 2014). Furthermore, pudus “maintain tunnels, which provide them with a refuge from their natural predator, the puma,” (Bubenik, Eugenia, et al. 2014). They end to have a home range 16 to 26 hectares large and dung piles are found near their established trails and resting places. Moreover, the Southern pudu can be found on “high mountainsides up to 1,700 metres above sea level, but also at much lower elevations and along the coast,” (Wildscreen Arkive 2014). The Southern pudu also tries to “seek protection from the sun beneath a shady canopy or in valleys, as they appear to heat­intolerant,” and experiences “high levels of year­long precipitation, mild, wet winters and short, dry summers,” (Robidoux 2014). Mild winters are essential as pudus are of such short stature that they may have difficulty traversing deep snow.
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Southern pudu

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The southern pudu (Pudu puda, Mapudungun püdü or püdu,[4] Spanish: pudú, Spanish pronunciation: [puˈðu]) is a species of South American deer native to the Valdivian temperate forests of south-central Chile and adjacent Argentina. It is classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.[1]

Description

The southern pudu is characterized by being the second smallest deer in the world. It is slightly larger than its sister species, the northern pudu, being 35 to 45 cm (14 to 18 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs 6.4 to 13.4 kg (14 to 30 lb). The antlers of the southern pudu grow to be 5.3 to 9 cm (2.1 to 3.5 in) long and tend to curve back, somewhat like a mountain goat. Its coat is a dark chestnut-brown, and tends to tuft in the front, covering the antlers.[5]

Range and habitat

The southern pudu lives in forests, including both mature and disturbed forests, typically with a dense understory, but it does nevertheless prefer open spaces with rich vegetation for feeding.[6] It is found at lower elevations than its sister species, from sea level to 1,700 m (5,600 ft) elevation. In the Chilean Coast Range the pudu is found in primary and secondary broadleaf evergreen and alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) forests, and sometimes in Eucalyptus plantations. In the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina it is associated with thickets of bamboo (Chusquea spp.) and Nothofagus dombeyi forests.[1]

Foraging by southern pudu is thought to be detrimental for the regeneration of burned forests of Pilgerodendron uviferum.[6]

Genetic diversity

Analysis of the mtDNA control region and cytochrome b of the southern pudu across Chile revealed that different populations have marked genetic differences, with a large number of unique haplotypes in each population and few shared haplotypes between populations. This indicates that gene flow is reduced and most populations are reproductively isolated from each other.[7] The population from Chiloé Island is estimated to have become isolated from continental populations more than 200 thousand years ago and may constitute a separate subspecies.[8] This reproductive isolation makes each population an important evolutionary unit but also increases their vulnerability since a drastic reduction in the number of individuals would decrease genetic diversity without recovery from migrating individuals coming from neighboring areas.[7]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c Silva-Rodríguez, E.; Pastore, H.; Jiménez, J. (2016). "Pudu puda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T18848A22164089. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18848A22164089.en. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Molina, Giovanni Ignazio (1782). "Il Pudu, Capra Puda". Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili. Bologna: S. Tommaso d'Aquino. pp. 308–309.
  4. ^ Muñoz Urrutia, Rafael, ed. (2006). Diccionario Mapuche: Mapudungun/Español, Español/Mapudungun (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Santiago, Chile: Editorial Centro Gráfico Ltda. p. 184. ISBN 956-8287-99-X.
  5. ^ "Forest South America". Animal Welfare Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  6. ^ a b Burger, Andreas; Bannister, Jan R.; Galindo, Nicole; Vargas-Gaete, Rodrigo; Vidal, Osvaldo J.; Schlegel, Bastienne (2019). "Browsing evidence of the native and near-threatened Pudu puda deer in restoration plantings on Chiloé Island, Chile". Gayana. Botánica. 76 (1): 24–33. doi:10.4067/S0717-66432019000100024. S2CID 202853005.
  7. ^ a b Colihueque, Nelson; Cabello, Javier; Fuentes-Moliz, Andrea (21 June 2022). "Genetic divergence and demography of pudu deer (Pudu puda) in five provinces of southern Chile, analyzed through latitudinal and longitudinal ranges". Neotropical Biology and Conservation. 17 (2): 117–142. doi:10.3897/neotropical.17.e81324. eISSN 2236-3777. S2CID 249933031.open access
  8. ^ Fuentes-Hurtado, Marcelo; Marín, Juan C.; González-Acuña, Daniel; Verdugo, Claudio; Vidal, Fernando; Vianna, Juliana A. (14 March 2011). "Molecular divergence between insular and continental Pudu deer (Pudu puda) populations in the Chilean Patagonia". Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 46 (1): 23–33. doi:10.1080/01650521.2010.537906. eISSN 1744-5140. ISSN 0165-0521. S2CID 85158582.
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Southern pudu: Brief Summary

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The southern pudu (Pudu puda, Mapudungun püdü or püdu, Spanish: pudú, Spanish pronunciation: [puˈðu]) is a species of South American deer native to the Valdivian temperate forests of south-central Chile and adjacent Argentina. It is classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.

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