The wild animal accidentally discovered in Khanh Hoa is the world's smallest ungulate.

If the world recognizes the Etruscan shrew as the world's smallest mammal, the world also recognizes the mouse deer (silver-backed chevrotain) as the world's smallest ungulate. And in Vietnam, this wild animal was discovered in Khanh Hoa after more than 30 years of being thought to be extinct.

Natural images of a wild animal called the silver-backed chevrotain (also known as the mouse deer) were recorded in 2019 in areas around Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province.

Natural image of 2 silver-backed chevrotains - rare wild animals discovered in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province. Mouse deer, also known as silver-backed chevrotains, are wild animals listed in the Vietnam Red Book as endangered, being threatened with extinction. Photo: Theguardian.

Details of the discovery of the mouse deer - this rare wildlife species - were published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on November 11, 2019.

The silver-backed chevrotain, also known as the mouse deer, weighs less than 4.5 kg. They are naturally shy and solitary. This mouse deer also has two small fangs and no antlers like a deer. The silver-backed chevrotain's face looks exactly like a mouse's, but its feet have hooves like a deer.

Also according to the announcement on CNN on November 11, 2019, the animal species named silver-backed chevrotain was first described by scientists in 1910, when 4 specimens were collected around Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa province).

Natural image of a silver-backed chevrotain - a rare wildlife that was thought to be extinct more than 30 years ago at Nui Chua National Park, Ninh Hai District, Ninh Thuan Province. Photo: Organizing Committee of the international workshop "Promoting the conservation of silver-backed chevrotain and the dry coastal forest ecosystem of Vietnam".

There was no further scientifically verified record of this wild animal until 1990, when a silver-backed chevrotain was confiscated from a local hunter.

The mouse deer, also known as the Vietnamese chevrotain, with the scientific name Tragulus versicolor, is an even-toed ungulate in the chevrotain family, about 30-50cm long. Currently, the silver-backed chevrotain is only known to exist in Vietnam. Therefore, the mouse deer is an endemic wildlife species in Vietnam.

An international workshop was held at Nui Chua National Park (Ninh Hai District, Ninh Thuan Province) with the title "Promoting the conservation of Silver-backed Cheetah and the dry coastal forest ecosystem of Vietnam". The workshop took place on October 18.

At the workshop, domestic and international researchers said that the Silver-backed Cheo (also known as the Vietnamese Cheo-deo, scientific name Tragulus versicolor) is an animal on the list of 25 rare and endangered species of the Global Wildlife Conservation Organization (GWC).

However, in 2018, a research team recorded the Silver-backed Cheetah appearing in the forest of Nui Chua National Park.

Photo of a chevrotain, scientific name Tragulus kanchil - a rare wild animal being raised, preserved and bred at Ben En National Park, Thanh Hoa province. Photo: VNA

This is an important biodiversity discovery for Vietnam and the world, because some international experts have suspected that this animal species still exists in the wild after nearly 30 years of "disappearance".

Currently, the Management Board of Ben En National Park (Thanh Hoa province) is also implementing the scientific project "Research on biological characteristics, building a breeding model and proposing solutions to conserve and develop the Cheo cheo species (scientific name Tragulus kanchil) at Ben En National Park (phase 2023 - 2026)" to find solutions to conserve this precious animal species.

The species of Cheo-deo being raised and bred in Ben En National Park, Thanh Hoa province has the scientific name Tragulus kanchil, different from the species of Cheo-deo discovered in Khanh Hoa province and Nui Chua National Park (Ninh Thuan province) with the scientific name Tragulus versicolor.

Cheo cheo - a wild animal listed in the Vietnam Red Book

According to the Vietnam Red Book, the Cheo Cheo species is classified in the Vietnam Red Book at level E. ENDANGERED, abbreviated as E, is the way to classify endangered species (threatened with extinction); threatened with extinction and unlikely to survive if the threatening factors continue...

Source: https://danviet.vn/con-dong-vat-hoang-da-tinh-co-phat-hien-o-khanh-hoa-la-loai-thu-mong-guoc-nho-nhat-the-gioi-20241111132737987.htm