Rare ‘tiny’ deer feared extinct, clicked for first time in 30 years

HANOI

A tiny deer-like species not seen by scientists for nearly 30 years has been photographed in a forest in southern Vietnam.

Conservationists say images of the silver-backed chevrotain, commonly called the Vietnamese mouse deer, were captured in the wild by trap cameras.

Global Wildlife Conservation said in a statement on Tuesday that the rabbit-sized animal is not a deer or a mouse, despite its nickname, but is the world’s smallest hoofed mammal.

It says they are shy and solitary, have two tiny fangs, appear to walk on the tips of their hooves, and have a silver sheen. — AP