The Maned Wolf is a South American canine that is a unique species in the sense that, it is not closely related to any other living canid, and is the only species of its genus ´Chrysocyon´ (translating to ‘golden dog’ in Latin). Interestingly enough, despite its common name, the ‘maned wolf’ is neither a wolf, nor a dog, nor is it a fox (in spite of its confusing similarity and color pattern with the red fox). They inhabit the Cerrado region, the largest biome of South America characterized by a high density of trees.

It is the largest canid in South America, with a weight between 20 and 30 kg, and reaches up to 90 cm at the withers. This species is omnivorous, the diet list of the mane wolf is made up of more than 50% plant matter, including sugarcane, tubers, and fruit (especially wolf apple). Among the animals, they consume rodents, insects, reptiles and even birds.

They are shy creatures and seldom show up. These animals are primarily nocturnal and would hunt at night especially during the hours of dawn and dusk, spending the day hours usually by resting in areas covered with thick bush and wild vegetation.

With only around 17,000 adult individuals being left in the wild, The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as near ‘NT’ (Near Threatened). At present, domesticated and feral dogs also pass on diseases to these creatures and are known to even attack or kill them in some cases. These wild animals are threatened mostly by habitat loss

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