MOUSE DEER DISCOVERED
IN VIETNAM
G'day folks,
Technically, this is not a new discovery,
as these animals were considered extinct for close to 30 years.
The last
sighting of the chevrotain, or the mouse deer, was in 1990 in Vietnam.
Researchers believed them to be extinct for three decades until a small
group of these little animals was spotted in a Vietnam forest again in
2019.
The rare silver-backed chevrotains, that resemble a hybrid of a
large mouse and a deer, were captured on film scouring for food in a
forest by camera traps. The mouse deer is almost the size of a rabbit
and is the smallest of the ungulates (hoofed mammals).
The last chevrotain that was spotted in
1990 was found dead. The species was already on the brink of extinction
then, and thus, finding an entire group of these animals so many years
later is an important step.
With the ‘rediscovery’ of this precious
animal, researchers can learn new things about it and figure out ways to
not lose it again.
Here is to hoping that we learn from the mistakes of the past and find a
way to preserve these new animal species in the coming decade.
Clancy's comment: Great news, eh? What a cute lil animal.
I'm ...
