Lmst

Feral pigs are running wild

"Destruction wrought by pig-borne disease is thining the canopy of bunya pine forests. Australian landscapes didn’t evolve for hard-hoofed animals and aggressive foragers with the mass of a feral pig … we are seeing severe ecological imbalances starting to occur.” >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/30/feral-pigs-queensland-rainforests-rivers-sacred-sites
#InvasiveSpecies #pigs #ungulates #bunya #SacredSites #harm

Catching some air.

#photography #mammals #ungulates #nature #dartmouth #massachusetts #massachusettswildlife

A photograph of a white-tailed deer mid-jump over a grassy field.

There are almost always White-tailed Deer like this guy out at DNRT's Ocean View Farm, but that seems especially true this time of year.

#photography #mammals #ungulates #nature #dartmouth #massachusetts #massachusettswildlife

A photograph of a large white-tailed deer with a 6-point rack standing on a grassy field in the sun, with green foliage behind it and some vegetation in its mouth.

This guy gave me a few looks, but was pretty unbothered out at DNRT's Ocean View Farm this weekend.

#photography #mammals #ungulates #nature #dartmouth #massachusetts #massachusettswildlife

A photograph of a large white-tailed deer with a 6-point rack standing on a grassy field in the sun, with green foliage behind it.

New on my #blog: https://aspi.blog/2025/10/27/watatunga-revisited/
An account of a trip to Watatunga Wildlife Reserve with my parents, yesterday afternoon.
#photography #NaturePhotography #Nature #Wildlife #Birds #GreatBustards #JavanPeafowl #Mammals #Ungulates #Deer #Antelopes #CapeEland #Nilgai #EasternBongo

A #RoanAntelope with a #EurasianCrane either side of it at Watatunga.
#photography #nature #birds #mammals #antelopes #ungulates

A roan antelope (long legs, reddish brown body - the name comes from its colouring - black and white face and two long curved horns). In the background either side of the beast are two Eurasian cranes - tall, mainly white birds with black and red head colouring.

Cattle swallows the landscape of the earth
Bellingen mural
>
Cattle swallows Australian landscape and biodiversity
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115409346256515323
#biodiversity #wildlife #pastoralism #culture #ungulates #IntroducedSpecies #meat #SettlerSociety #landscape

Cattle swallows Australian landscape and biodiversity

Time for a Big Cow sculpture of gargantuan size? >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-21/agricultural-livestock-big-cow-art-popular-genre-paintings/105858568
#biodiversity #wildlife #pastoralism #culture #ungulates #IntroducedSpecies #meat #SettlerSociety

Anna Glynn's Flintoff swallows von Guerard, created in 2020, is a tribute to Henry Stone and his Durham Ox. (Supplied: Anna Glynn courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ballarat) ABC

New on my #blog: https://aspi.blog/2025/10/11/mental-health-day-at-watatunga/
A look back at a fascinating morning and early afternoon yesterday, spent at Watatunga Wildlife Reserve, complete with #photos
#Autism #AutismAcceptance #photography #wildlife #birds #mammals #ungulates #WaterBuffalo #deer #antelopes #BrindledWildebeest #CapeEland #EasternBongo #Crane #JavanPeafowl #GuineaFowl #GreatBustard #WatatungaWildlifeReserve

From today at #WatatungaWildlifeReserve, three species in shot...
#photography #nature #wildlife #mammals #ungulates #CapeEland #Wildebeest #Bongo

In this picture, taken in a woodland section of the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve, which is just four miles from the town of King's Lynn, are three animals each of a different species: The leftmost as you look is the biggest, a Cape Eland, which is the largest member of the antelope family. It has pale brown fur, and its twisty horns are clearly visible. In the middle is a Wildebeest, grey in colour, and off the right, slightly separate from the other two is a bongo, orange with silver stripes and very impressive horns.

Humans profoundly reshaped mammal communities on a global scale.

"After farming began, just a handful of livestock species spread with humans and scrambled those natural boundaries, reshaping mammal communities worldwide...Large ungulates like horses and cows are important because they monopolize food resources wherever they are in high numbers...At the same time, many wild mammals went extinct, in each case following human arrival—not during a particular worldwide climate change episode."

"Post-extinction ecosystems have not been truly natural for the last 10,000 years or more, so national parks in the hardest-hit regions, such as Australia and the Americas, lack over half of the native large mammal species that would have been present if not for humans. Over the last 10,000 years or so, humans have overseen the wholesale replacement of native mammal communities with a very limited set of domesticated species."
>>
How humans reshaped the animal world: Research traces 50,000 years of change
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-humans-reshaped-animal-world-years.html

"These findings underscore how human-driven extinctions, agriculture and resource extraction profoundly reshaped mammal community structures. How we manage these interactions today will determine whether mammal communities become resilient or increasingly destabilized."
>>
Barry W. Brook et al, Late Pleistocene faunal community patterns disrupted by Holocene human impacts, Biology Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0151
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0151
#ecosystems #biosphere #biodiversity #wildlife #nativespecies #mammals #holocene #extinctions #disruption #fauna #NovelAssemblages #NPs #nature #ungulates #livestock #HumanDriven #NicheModification #monoculture #Australia #extractivism

Southern Pudu Pudu puda

Southern Pudu Pudu puda

IUCN Status: Near Threatened

Location: Chile, Argentina

Darting around and hiding on the forest floor, the Southern Pudu, known as püdü or püdu in Mapudungun (the language of the indigenous Mapuche people), is the world’s second-smallest #deer species. Weighing just 6.4 to 13.4 kg and standing at 35 to 45 cm at the shoulder, these miniature deer are remarkably adapted to their forested environments and communicate with each other through scent. Their short, spiky antlers curve slightly backward, and their thick chestnut-brown coat provides excellent camouflage in the undergrowth.
Despite their small size, Southern Pudus are resilient #ungulates in one of the world’s most biodiverse but increasingly threatened temperate forests in #Argentina and #Chile. However, habitat destruction for eucalyptus and pine monoculture, predation by invasive species, road collisions and disease transmission from farmed animals are pushing populations to the brink. Help them by raising awareness, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

https://youtu.be/Lsi8c49ZZ_A

Southern #Pudus are timid and wary tiny #deer 🦌one of the smallest in the 🌎, they hide in the undergrowth of #Argentina’s forests 🇦🇷 They’re ‘Near Threatened’ by #poaching and #deforestation. Raise your voice for them #Boycott4Wildlife ✊ @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-aoq

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As silent as a mouse 🐭 and smaller than a house #cat 🐱, Southern Pudus are miniature #deer 🦌🤎 who peer from rainforest shadows in #Chile 🇨🇱 Eucalyptus monoculture #deforestation 🌳🎋🔥is a major threat. Help them and #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-aoq

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Appearance & Behaviour

Southern Pudus are a stocky tiny deer species with short legs, rounded ears, and large, dark eyes. Their small antlers, present only in males, measure between 5.3 and 9 cm and are shed annually. Their dense fur varies from reddish-brown to dark brown, often appearing darker in winter.

Unlike many other ungulate species, Pudus are solitary and highly secretive. They are mostly crepuscular, active mostly during dawn and dusk, and use scent-marking to communicate with other individuals. They rely on zigzagging escape routes through dense undergrowth to evade predators, making them difficult to spot in the wild.

Threats

Southern Pudu populations face multiple threats that have led to drastic declines in recent decades.

1. Habitat Loss and Deforestation

Widespread forest clearance: Nearly 50% of the Valdivian temperate rainforest has been destroyed since 1550, with severe deforestation in the Maule and Araucanía regions.
Deforestation for agriculture: Native forests are being replaced with monoculture plantations (eucalyptus, pine), cattle ranching, and agriculture, significantly reducing their available habitat.
Fragmentation of remaining forests: The loss of continuous forest corridors isolates populations, leading to inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity.

2. Predation and Competition with Invasive Species

Free-ranging dogs attack and kill Pudus, even inside protected areas. Invasive deer and wild boar species compete for food and damage the undergrowth that Pudus rely on for shelter.

3. Road Development and Vehicle Collisions

Increasing road networks in Chile and Argentina have led to frequent roadkill incidents, including deaths inside national parks. The planned Chiloé-Mainland bridge could expose isolated Chiloé populations to new predators and human disturbances.

4. Disease Transmission from Livestock

Livestock diseases, including pestivirus, Leptospira, and bovine tuberculosis, are increasingly affecting wild Pudu populations. The presence of cattle-related pathogens has been documented, though their full impact is still being studied.

5. Illegal Poaching and Capture for the Pet Trade

Hunting for food still occurs in some rural areas. Some Pudus are illegally captured and sold in the exotic pet trade, despite their poor survival rate in captivity.

Geographic Range

The Southern Pudu is found in the temperate rainforests of southern Chile and southwestern Argentina, primarily within the Valdivian temperate forest. This elusive deer inhabits dense forests with thick underbrush, bamboo thickets, and Nothofagus-dominated woodlands, where they can navigate the understory with ease.

Diet

Like other deer species, Southern Pudus are browsing herbivores, feeding on a wide variety of shrubs, vines, bamboo shoots, ferns, leaves, and fallen fruit. Due to their small stature, they employ clever techniques to access food, including standing on their hind legs, bending saplings, or even climbing on logs and rocks to reach foliage. They obtain much of their moisture from their diet and can survive without drinking water for extended periods.

Mating and Reproduction

Mating season occurs during the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn (April to May). Males engage in territorial scent-marking but do not form harems. The gestation period for these miniature deers lasts approximately 210 days, with fawns typically born between November and January.

At birth, fawns weigh between 700 and 1,000 grams and have white-spotted coats for camouflage. They are weaned after two months but may remain with their mother for up to a year. Sexual maturity is reached at six months for females and 8–12 months for males.

FAQs

How small is the Southern Pudu compared to other deer?

The Southern Pudu is the second-smallest deer species in the world, only slightly larger than the Northern Pudu (Pudu mephistophiles). They stand 35–45 cm tall and weigh between 6.4–13.4 kg, making them smaller than many domestic cats.

Why are Southern Pudus classified as Near Threatened?

Their rapidly declining population is mainly due to habitat destruction, hunting, vehicle collisions, and diseases from livestock.

How do they communicate?

Southern Pudus use scent-marking from facial glands and urine to establish territories. They also emit barking sounds when alarmed.

Do Southern Pudus make good pets?

Absolutely not. Keeping a Pudu as a pet is illegal and highly unethical. These deer are extremely stress-prone and rarely survive in captivity unless part of scientific conservation efforts. They are meant to roam in the forests not be captive for their lives in a domestic environment or in a Zoo. If you want to help Southern Pudus raise awareness about them by sharing this post.

How do Southern Pudus avoid predators?

Pudus rely on stealth, agility, and dense undergrowth to evade predators. When chased, they zigzag through the forest and can jump over logs and climb steep terrain.

How do Pudus adapt to deforested areas?

While they prefer native forests, some Pudus have been observed using commercial tree plantations, but only when there is a dense understory for cover.

Take Action!

Support conservation organisations that work to protect the Valdivian temperate forest.
Advocate against the pet trade – Pudus are wild animals and they belong free in the wild, not kept as pets!
Promote stricter regulations on free-roaming dogs in national parks.
Raise awareness about the threats posed by deforestation and invasive species by sharing this post to social media. Use the one-click shares at the top of this post.

The Southern Pudu may be small, but their role in the biodiversity of South American forests is crucial. Protecting them means preserving one of the last temperate rainforests on Earth.

Support Southern Pudu by going vegan and boycotting deforestation causing commodities in the supermarket, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Support the conservation of this species

This animal has no protections in place. Read about other forgotten species here. Create art to support this forgotten animal or raise awareness about them by sharing this post and using the #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags on social media. Also you can boycott palm oil in the supermarket.

Further Information

Hidalgo-Hermoso, E., et al. (2024). High exposure to livestock pathogens in Southern Pudu (Pudu puda) from Chile. Animals, 14(4), 526. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14040526

Silva-Rodríguez, E. A., et al. (2011). Priorities for the conservation of the Pudu (Pudu puda) in southern South America. Animal Production Science, 51(4), 375-377. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN10286

Silva-Rodríguez, E, Pastore, H. & Jiménez, J. 2016. Pudu puda. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T18848A22164089. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18848A22164089.en. Accessed on 26 February 2025.

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Southern Pudu. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_pudu

Zúñiga, A. H., & Jiménez, J. E. (2018). Activity patterns and habitat use of Pudu deer (Pudu puda) in a mountain forest of south-central Chile. Journal of Natural History, 52(33-34), 2047-2054. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2018.1510995

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#animals #argentina #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #cat #Chile #deer #deforestation #ForgottenAnimals #herbivores #hunting #Mammal #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #poaching #Pudus #SouthAmericaSpeciesEndangeredByPalmOilDeforestation #SouthernPuduPuduPuda #ungulates #VulnerableSpecies