It was raining quite hard while we were driving down the Carretera Austral and I spotted what looked to be a dog. All the way out here? And then Max yells, “ES UN PUDÚ!!!” 

The Southern Pudú, found in southern Chile and Argentina, is the world’s smallest deer and is extremely difficult to catch within its natural habitat, a true marvel, luck. These little guys are endangered and are known for being hermits, living far from humans in dense forests.

People who’ve lived in the area all their lives have never seen a pudú. I can’t stress enough how rare this is. And here I was with my camera, it was pouring down the rain and this guy’s absolutely terrified by humans. So I thought of my childhood and started whistling. And what does he do but to stop running away and turns around to look at me! Thank you Dad, you taught me that!

So, grainy and all, I present to you a true rarity, the world’s smallest deer in its natural habitat.