William J. Farrell, aged 13, of Near York, N.Y. for his question:
What is the smallest deer in the world?
The largest member of the deer family is a native of the United States. He may stand six feet at shoulder level and weigh almost three quarters of a ton. His crown of wide antlers may weigh sixty pounds. This long legged browser is, of course, our own gentle giant moose. We also have a number of medium sized deer. Among them is the Beau Hrummel of the Cervidae ‑ the deer family, This glamour boy is the sleek, fleet Virginia Deer who carries his white tail like a plume.
Since none of our native deer are really small, we tend to think of the deer cousins as sizeable animals. This is not always so. There are a hundred or so members of the Cervidae throughout the world. As a family they are shy and gentle creatures of the sheltered ‑woods. It is likely that there are still deer in the world undiscovered. This maybe especially true of the smaller deer. We do know of a number of dog‑sized deer. The smallest we know of is the size of a, cocker spaniel ‑ and just as affectionate.
The Chinese have a small native deer ‑ the water deer. He stands twenty inches at shoulder level. He is very shy and bounds along rather like a here on long back legs. His favorite haunts are the ready marshes.
The famous musk deer is also small, He loves the highlands of central Asia. This fellow wears a handsome thick coat but he is a deer without antlers. Full grown he may weigh 25 pounds at most. This is the deer that provides the strong smelling musk for the making of fine perfumes.
Most of the world's small deer are native to Central and South America. The shy little brockets live in these regions. They are seven deer cousins. Their antlers are two simple spikes. Most of them stand about twenty,‑four inches at shoulder level, But one of the seven cousins is the Pigmy Hrocket. This little fellow stands only nineteen inches at shoulder level. The little brocket cousins prance around almost all of South America. They are found at sea level and way up to altitudes of altitudes of 16,000 feet.
So far as we know, the smallest deer in the world is also South American. He is the pudu of Chile. This little deer never grows higher than thirteen and one half inches at shoulder level. Full grown he weighs about twenty pounds. He is shy and gentle like the brockets. And also like the brockets he grows a pair of single spiked horns each year,
The pudu is a very able little fellow, in spite of his small size. Many deer are expert swimmers ‑ in streams and rivers. But the little pudu can and does swim in the sea. In fact he sometimes takes himself a small ocean voyage, He swims from the mainland of Chile to the islands off shore, and then swims home again.
Like all deer, the pudu is a vegetarian. You might spot him and his shy family browsing after sunset. Otherwise you would have to rise before sunup to see him. He sleeps away the day in the deep thickets. Maybe you might catch a pudu fawn. This child of the littlest of deer is tameable and makes a sweet and affectionate pet.