Bristol Zoo welcomes ‘extremely rare’ 30cm tall adorable Philippine spotted deer fawn

An 'extremely rare' Philippine spotted deer fawn has been born in the UK.

The fawn, which is just 30cm tall, was born to first time parents Eugene and Pandora.

Staff at Bristol Zoological Society have been left 'delighted' at the birth, with there thought to be fewer than 700 Philippine spotted deer left in the wild.

The zoo is also asking for the public’s help in naming the fawn, which is just over a week old. They have come up with a shortlist of three names, which all reflect Bristol Zoological Society’s charitable conservation work in the Philippines.

The names are: Laserna (the name of a community that the charity works with in the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park), Maliit (which translates to "little" in Filipino), and Bulahan (which means "blessed" in Bisaya dialect, which is used on most Visayas Islands). To vote, visit the Bristol Zoo Project’s Facebook page.

Will Walker, Curator of Mammals at Bristol Zoo Project, said: “Any new arrival here at the zoo is special, but when it’s a species that is so threatened in the wild, it makes this moment even more important.

“Eugene and Pandora have been with us for almost two years now and this is their first fawn. They are both settling into parenthood and the baby is healthy and suckling.

“He may be tiny, but the fawn has an important role to play in the future of his species in the Philippines, where we have been working with local communities since 2014. Together with our partners, we aim to reduce illegal hunting and protect the remaining forests of Panay and Negros Islands and the wildlife within them.

"With so few of these deer left in the wild, we hope our visitors who come to see the fawn will be inspired to join us on our journey to Save Wildlife Together.”