One of our greatest pleasures is discovering cute, exotic animals that we never knew existed, and this Mouse-deer is no exception. Especially considering nobody has seen one since the 90’s!
‘Chevrotain’ otherwise known as mouse-deer (though not belonging to either family), are the smallest hoofed mammals in the world, originating in forests in South and South-East Asia, and forested parts of West Africa. The Silver-Backed Chevrotain is native to Vietnam and had not been sighted for around 30 years – until now.
The Vietnamese Chevrotain had made it onto the Global Wildlife 
Conservation’s 25 most wanted missing species list, with specialists unsure as to whether these creatures had become extinct.
Chevrotain originating in Asia can weigh between 0.7 and 8.0 kg. In other words, their size ranges from a small Guinea Pig up to a Jack Russell dog. They lack antlers or horns, but have long canine teeth used for fighting. Chevrotain live mostly on plants, live in couples and give birth to one (very cute) baby Chevrotain at at time.
Cameras were set in forested areas by zoologists in order to find out, and fortunately there were multiple sightings of the mousy-looking critter. The Silver-Backed Chevrotain is the first of 25 missing species that the organisation hopes to find.
Main Image: Global Wildlife Conservation
