With its very short legs and small, low-slung body, the southern pudu can easily move through dense vegetation and among rocks to escape predators. Predators include puma, fox, condor and domestic dogs. When pursued, southern pudu run in a zigzag pattern and will climb trunks of trees that are leaning over streams or bluffs to escape their pursuer. They tend to live alone or in pairs. These deer are almost never found in groups of more than three animals.
Scent marking is an important mode of communication.
More common among males than females, scent marking is accomplished by secretions from the preorbital and frontal scent glands, as well as by urination and defecation in specific sites. Scent glands are sacs that open on the skin surface and discharge a strong-smelling secretion. Nearly all deer species posses these scent glands. One theory explaining why deer possess these glands is that the scent, when spread on trees or leaves, enables other deer to recognize their presence and marks their territory. Pudu, like all deer, are ruminants.