The huemul is the deer species endemic to the Patagonian Andes and Chile’s national animal.
Also called the South Andean deer, the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) lives in the cold forests, valleys, and mountain slopes of southern Chile and Argentina. It is a stocky deer with short legs, a heavy body, and distinctive white markings around its face and rump.
The species is closely associated with Chilean identity: a huemul appears alongside a condor on Chile’s national coat of arms. Chile also designated it a National Natural Monument in 2006. Its range and numbers have fallen sharply because of habitat loss, introduced livestock and predators, disease, roads, and historical hunting.
The wrong options are all Andean or Patagonian animals, which makes them tempting. Vicuñas are small camelids of the high Andes, guanacos are wild relatives of llamas, and pudús are the world’s smallest deer. None is Chile’s national animal; that distinction belongs to the huemul, although the condor shares the national emblem.