Rare sighting of tiny mouse deer in Indian forests: video

Low to the ground, a tiny creature sniffs the foliage, searching for its next meal. It carefully weaves across the ground, undeterred by the darkness of the Indian forest.

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Unbeknownst to the animal, a trail camera sat nearby — recording the rare sight.

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The petite animal was identified as an Indian mouse-deer and spotted foraging in the Kangar Valley National park, the Bastar District Administration said May 30 on Twitter.

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Indian mouse-deer are formally known as Indian spotted chevrotain, according to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology. They look like miniature deer and have white spots across their backs. These small deer weigh about 6-and-a-half pounds and reach between eight to 15 inches in height, the university said.

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Although not threatened, Indian mouse-deer are solitary and nocturnal animals — making them naturally elusive, the university said.

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A single mouse-deer passed in front of a trail camera at the national park on May 19, park video shared on Facebook by East News shows. The creature sniffed the ground as it slowly walked away from the camera.

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Mouse-deer are a rare sight at Kangar Valley National Park, the Bastar District Administration said on Facebook.

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A solitary Indian mouse-deer was also filmed at the park in May 2022, video shared by journalist Avinash Prasad on Twitter shows. The animal picks its way across a small clearing. It pauses a few times as it passes, blending into the foliage.

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Kangar Valley National Park is in Bastar District, Chhattisgarh, and about 845 miles southeast of New Delhi.

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Google Translate was used to translate Twitter posts from the Bastar District Administration and Avinash Prasad. Facebook Translate was used to translate Facebook posts from the Bastar District Administration.

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