4-Pound Mouse-Deer Species is the World’s Smallest Deer

Recent reports have shown the world's smallest deer weighing only four pounds. At present, according to Times Now Digital, there are only around 43 Java mouse-deer across Europe.

Unfortunately, the said website specifies, the deer species are presently endangered with extinction because of deforestation in their natural environments.

The animal is identified as tragulus javanicus, also famous for its identity as the lesser mouse-deer. It's residing in Southeast Asia, in the tropical forest regions, and it frequently lives inside hollow trees or compressed vegetation that is close to sources of water. Essentially, the animal can even turn its home into formations of rocks.

Nevertheless, as tiny and cute as they are, these animals are quite indefinable too, so catching sight of them in the wild is unusual.

There was a discovery, though, of one rare Java mouse-deer, and that is because it was at the Bioparc Fuengirola zoo in the city of Malaga, located in the southern part of Spain.

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The world's Smallest Deer Species

This Java mouse-deer, as earlier mentioned, weighing only four pounds or 1.8 kilograms, looks has a physical appearance more similar to a mouse.

The GreaterGood site describes the animals as a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragullidae family and typically exists in Southeast Asia's tropical forest.

Typically, an adult male deer can be as heavy as 300 pounds, and a female adult deer, on the other hand, can weigh as much as 125 pounds. Therefore, if they are positioned against the world's smallest deer, they would appear like giants.

This tiny four-pound deer is two weeks old, and it is said to be the eighth one born at the Fuengrilola zoo, all of their breeding program's part.

As earlier mentioned, this deer is joining 43 other Java mouse-deer residing in Europe. This unusual species is presently facing a danger of extinction in the wild due to enormous deforestation.

A TikTok video recently showcased that some more facts on this Java mouse-deer were cleared up. In the said uploaded video, the account owner explained that the smallest deer that weighs four pounds is indeed popular for being a lesser mouse-deer.

Unique Family of Mammals

As described in the popular video-sharing app, the said species are not really deer, although they are part of their own unique family of mammals.

In fact, they can even grow to 18 inches long and are roughly the size of a rabbit. The mouse is consumed by people and can, at times, kept as pets.

According to Animal Diversity, this small animal has a long lifespan of around 12 years. It does not have any horns or antlers, although these male deer species have upper canines that are protruding and long, nearly similar to tusks.

Meanwhile, the female deer do not have these teeth. But both male and female mouse-deer indeed have fur characterized with brownish orange with white underbellies.

Generally, these deer species' attractive appearance are their excessively skinny legs with a physical appearance akin to pencils.

The Kritter Club's YouTube video below shows how small deer are: