Extremely rare deer fawn born at Bristol Zoo Project
It's thought there is fewer than 700 of the species left in the wild
Staff at Bristol Zoo Project are celebrating after an extremely rare deer fawn, which is just 30cm tall, made its first appearance in public.
The male Philippine spotted deer, which keepers say is healthy and feeding well, was born recently to first time parents Eugene and Pandora and is yet to be named.
At 30cm tall it is the same height as a cereal box or a piece of A4 paper.
It's thought there are fewer than 700 Philippine spotted deer left in the wild globally, making the fawn's birth at Bristol Zoo Project particularly significant.
Parents Pandora and Eugene arrived at the zoo in June 2023 having each come from different places, as part of a breeding programme.
Will Walker, Curator of Mammals at Bristol Zoo Project, said: “Any new arrival here at the zoo is special, but when it’s a species that is so threatened in the wild, it makes this moment even more important.
“Eugene and Pandora have been with us for almost two years now and this is their first fawn. They are both settling into parenthood and the baby is healthy and suckling.
“He may be tiny, but the fawn has an important role to play in the future of his species in the Philippines, where we have been working with local communities since 2014. Together with our partners, we aim to reduce illegal hunting and protect the remaining forests of Panay and Negros Islands and the wildlife within them.
“With so few of these deer left in the wild, we hope our visitors who come to see the fawn will be inspired to join us on our journey to Save Wildlife Together.”
Members of the public are now being asked to help name the fawn, which is just over a week old.
Staff have come up with a shortlist of three names as follows:
- Laserna - the name of a community that the charity works with in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park.
- Maliit, which translates to "little" in Filipino.
- Bulahan, which means "blessed" in Bisaya dialect, which is used on most Visayas Islands.