Blink and you’ll miss it: Rare mousedeer spotted at Pasir Ris Park at 3am

The Stomper had likely spotted a lesser mousedeer, one of the world’s smallest known hoofed animals.

According to the National Parks Board (NParks), the native species is usually found in the mature forests of the Central Catchment and Bukit Timah Nature Reserves. While largely solitary, it can be spotted in pairs. It feeds on leaves, shoots, fungi and fallen fruit.

While there were fewer than 50 lesser mousedeer in Singapore in the 1990s, there are now about 160 to 200 thanks to intensive reforestation and habitat enhancement efforts under the NParks Nature Conservation Masterplan, as well as increased support from the scientific and nature community.

Previously classified as critically endangered in Singapore, it is now listed as endangered locally.

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