This deer ranges across a variety of often difficult habitats.
It usually prefers open periglacial scrubland, low bluffs and other rocky areas, as well as upland forests and forest-borders.
One study of coastal fjord populations found males and juveniles preferred periglacial grassland; females were mainly found on bluffs, and fawns exclusively so.
Gunnera plants were a principal dietary item.

While it was previously found over much of southwestern South America, the current status of the south Andean deer is critical.
Numbers in Argentina were estimated at 350–600, in fragmented groups, as of 2005.
Argentinian national authorities have been criticized for calling the species' situation satisfactory, where research shows declining numbers; further research on habitat viability and conservation centers have been urged.

Pressures on huemul populations include economic activities and invasive species.
One study in Argentina's Nahuel Huapi National Park found thirty-two plant items in its diet.
The most common of these, the Lenga beech, was also a primary food item of the red deer, causing displacement to marginal areas and increased vulnerability for the smaller South Andean Deer.
Both decreased reproduction rates and increased morbidity may be affecting the population in Argentina; predation by the cougar, the South Andean deer's only natural predator, remains a principal cause of mortality in Argentina.
This deer ranges across a variety of often difficult habitats. It usually prefers open periglacial scrubland, low bluffs and other rocky areas, as well as upland forests and forest-borders. One study of coastal fjord populations found males and juveniles preferred periglacial grassland; females were mainly found on bluffs, and fawns exclusively so. Gunnera plants were a principal dietary item.
While it was previously found over much of southwestern South America, the current status of the south Andean deer is critical. Numbers in Argentina were estimated at 350–600, in fragmented groups, as of 2005. Argentinian national authorities have been criticized for calling the species' situation satisfactory, where research shows declining numbers; further research on habitat viability and conservation centers have been urged.
Pressures on huemul populations include economic activities and invasive species. One study in Argentina's Nahuel Huapi National Park found thirty-two plant items in its diet. The most common of these, the Lenga beech, was also a primary food item of the red deer, causing displacement to marginal areas and increased vulnerability for the smaller South Andean Deer. Both decreased reproduction rates and increased morbidity may be affecting the population in Argentina; predation by the cougar, the South Andean deer's only natural predator, remains a principal cause of mortality in Argentina.
South Andean deer