News / Bristol Zoo Gardens
First photos of new mouse deer born at Bristol Zoo
A new addition to Bristol Zoo may be small in stature but his birth is hailed as a big success story.
Standing at just 20cm tall, Otis is only the third Malayan mouse deer to be born at the site in the past decade, boosting the numbers of a species that is in sharp decline in the wild.
The first photos have just been revealed of the miniature wide-eye, long-legged creature, who was born four weeks ago and tips the scales at only 430 grams.
is needed now More than ever
Al Toyne, team leader of small mammals at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “For the first few weeks his mother kept him hidden and he remained quite stationary in the undergrowth.
“But now he is moving around a lot on his own. He is quite active and confident and has started eating solids.”
Otis is only the third Malayan mouse deer to be born at Bristol Zoo in the past decade – photo courtesy of Bristol Zoo
The zoo says the new birth is very important because it helps to sustain the captive population of mouse deer whose numbers in the wild are in sharp decline.
Al added: “This does represent a great success and, because his mother has had just two infants, she is very important for the conservation breeding programme as her genes are rare.”
Mouse deer are distantly related to deer and feed on flowers and vegetable matter, roaming the forests on their native island of Java, South East Asia.
But they are hunted for their meat and captured as wild pets. Their current numbers are not known but they would probably be classified as vulnerable if they were thoroughly surveyed.
Otis stands at just 20cm tall – photo courtesy of Bristol Zoo
Main photo courtesy of Bristol Zoo
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