Edinburgh Zoo has told us today about their newest addition. The Visayan spotted deer calf was born last weekend, the firs time this species has bred at the Zoo.
This breed is also known as the Philippine spotted deer is a rare species and is categorised as Endangered on the Red List published by IUCN. They are usually only found on the Western Visayan Islands of the central Philippines.
Jo Elliott, Animal Collections Manager at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, said: “The young calf is doing very well and is already able to keep up with its parents. The young female calf has yet to be named by keepers, but she is already stealing visitors’ hearts with her large, blue eyes. She has quite a woolly coat and her white spots are already very prominent.
“This is the first Visayan deer calf to be born at the Zoo, so we are extremely happy. The birth of this deer will play an important role in the conservation of this increasingly threatened species, helping to safeguard it from complete extinction.”
The deer grow only to 80cm in height and about 80kg in weight.
Images Margaret Mollon
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
