Maned Wolf
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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Maned Wolf | status = Conservation status: Lower risk | image = Wilk grzywiasty big001xx.jpg | image_width = 230px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Mammalia | ordo = Carnivora | familia = Canidae | genus = Chrysocyon | species = C. brachyurus | binomial = Chrysocyon brachyurus | binomial_authority = (Illiger, 1815) }} The Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest canid of South America, resembling a dog with reddish fur. It is called lobo-guará ("Guará Wolf") in Portuguese, aguara guazú ("Big Fox") in Guarani, and zorro rojizo ("Reddish Fox") in Spanish.
The distribution includes southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia east of the Andes. It is an endangered species, and its range once included Uruguay and northern Argentina, although IUCN lists it as "lower risk". It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon.
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Description
The Maned Wolf has often been described as "a Red Fox on stilts" The adult animal stands almost 1 m (3 ft) tall at the shoulder, and weighs 20 to 25 kg. (50 to 55 lb). Its fur is reddish brown on the sides, with long, black legs and a distinctive black mane. The coat is further marked with whitish tufts at the tip of the tail and a white "bib" beneath the throat. The mane is erectile, and is typically used to enlarge the wolf's profile when threatened or when displaying aggression.
Habits
Social structure
Unlike other large canids (Wolves, African Hunting Dogs, Dholes) the Maned Wolf does not form packs. Monogamous pairs may defend a shared territory, though the wolves themselves may seldom meet, outside of mating. Several adults may congregate in the presence of a plentiful food source; a fire-cleared patch of grassland, for example, which would leave small vertebrate prey exposed to foraging wolves. Gestation lasts 67 days, and a litter may have up to 6 pups.
Diet
Image:Maned wolf smithsonian.jpg Whereas other large canids hunt cooperatively to capture ungulate prey, maned wolves specialize in small prey. At night Maned Wolves search for rodents, hares and birds. Fruits are a large fraction of their diet. Most interestingly of all, a large portion of the diet, over 50%, according to some studies, is made of fruits and plant matter, especially Wolf Apples, the tomato-like fruit of Solanum lycocarpum. Captive maned wolves were traditionally fed meat-heavy diets and developed kidney stones. Zoo diets now feature fruits and vegetables, as well as meat and dog chow.
Relations with other species
Maned wolves participate in symbiotic relationships with the plants that they feed on, as they carry the seeds of various plants, and often defecate on the nests of the leaf-cutting ant. The ants then use the dung to fertilize their fungus gardens. The wolf is particularly susceptible to renal nematode infections, a potentially fatal parasite. The maned wolf is not a true, common prey species for any other predator, though it may be attacked or killed by feral domestic dogs. The puma is a potential competitor. (O. Courtenay, 1994; [1]).
Relations with man
The Maned Wolf has been hunted down as a potential chicken thief; it was once also considered a cattle and sheep killer, though this is now known to be false. In Brazil, the animal is sometimes hunted down for some body parts, notably the eyes, that are believed to be good luck charms. Wolves are also endangered by habitat loss (though they benefit to a degree from the conversion of forest into grassland) and by being run over by cars. Domestic dogs are the greatest threat, by harming the wolves directly and by carrying diseases. The Maned Wolf is shy and flees when alarmed, and poses little direct threat to man. Maned wolves are well represented in captivity and have been bred successfully at a number of zoos.
Taxonomy
The Maned Wolf is not closely related to any other canid. It is apparently a survivor from the Pleistocene fauna of large South American mammals; its closest relatives seem to be the dogs and wolves (genus Canis). Previously, some authorities placed it with the various South American foxes, others with the Bush Dog.
Note: 19th century references to this animal may refer to it as a Canis jubatus, "jubatus" being a Latin for "maned".
See also
- Red Wolf (Canis rufus), a distinct species
- Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus), another South American canid species.
External link
de:Mähnenwolf es:Chrysocyon brachiurus it:Chrysocyon brachyurus he:זאב רעמתי lt:Karčiuotasis vilkas nl:Manenwolf pl:Wilk grzywiasty pt:Lobo-guará ru:Гривастый волк fi:Harjasusi sv:Manvarg zh:鬃狼