The Mouse Deer

By Tyler Federico

In Vietnam, a rabbit-sized animal known as the “Mouse Deer” has been discovered after being lost to science since 1990. Its last recorded sighting was almost 30 years ago and is now on the list of top 25 most wanted lost species in the Global Wildlife Conservation’s Search for Lost Species. It had only been recorded in the wild five times until a team of researchers recently rediscovered it in Nha Trang, Vietnam. The proper name for this animal is the “Silver-backed chevrotain” and the rediscovery of the mammal provides hope for the conservation of endangered species. The “Mouse Deer’ is only one of ten chevrotain species, that was first described in 1910 when four of these creatures were collected. Little is known about this chevrotain, but this silver-backed one is an ungulate, meaning hoofed mammal. Researchers have just captured images if this animal in the wild, meaning it is still out there surviving in the wild.