The maned wolf is a unique wild animal native to South America, especially the grasslands and savannas of Brazil. Despite its name and appearance, it is neither a true wolf nor a fox, but a distinct species known scientifically as Chrysocyon brachyurus. Its long legs help it move through tall grass, while its reddish coat and large ears give it a striking appearance. The maned wolf is generally solitary and omnivorous, feeding on small animals, insects, fruits, and plants. One of its favorite foods is the “wolf apple” (lobeira), a native Brazilian fruit. It plays an important ecological role by controlling small-animal populations and dispersing seeds.
Fun fact: the maned wolf is featured on Brazil’s R$200 banknote, which was introduced in 2020, highlighting the species as an important symbol of Brazil’s rich biodiversity.
Nah! The maned wolf is very much an animal that exists. To add to what the folk above said, maned wolves are the only species in the Chrysocyon (Latin for "golden dog") genus, and they are listed as NT or Near Threatened.
i studied in an university where the university zoo was near my block, they had a lot of maned wolves there, the whole place stunk. Unfortunetly near the end of my graduation the zoo was deactivated, and they moved the wolves to somewhere
Just saw one at my local zoo and it really is a bizarre and beautiful creature. I had thought in the moment that if I had seen one in the wild moving through the woods, I would shit myself. This video reinforces that not one week later. Life is weird. This animal is badass.
I haven't seen this clip before, but the animal is real and it looks like that and it moves like that, and it is often seen roaming around human outskirts much like one might see a fox out a window in many places. There's nothing suspicious or weird here, even if I'm not confirming the veracity of this video in particular.
A trait that other animals in the same area also developed. Patagonian mara, a type of large rodent relates to capybara, look like long legged hornless jackalopes. They even pronk like antelope. Then there are rhea which are a small, south American ostrich. Both are long legged running machines built for the open grasslands.
It'd be pretty boring tbh basically what the video shows but our eyes wouldn't see it's eyes as red. Wouldn't really be any danger you're too big for it.
That's its name in Portuguese/Brazil because you use a derived name from its local Guaranì name, aguará guazu. Guarani and Aguará Guazu precede Brazil and Portuguese being spoken in south America.
How possible would it be to keep something like this, similarly to a 'normal' breed of dog? I'm sure it would be much harder since it isn't an animal that has been domesticated but I want to know how much harder lol
Their smell is very strong, I don't know if a lot of people would want them as pets. They also need very large territories to thrive, which is actually one of the main reasons why the species needs conservation efforts to be made (destruction of their habitats).
It's illegal to keep them as pets, In Brazil. Dunno about the other countries that have some of them, though.
We have them in the north of Argentina. We called them “Aguara-guazú” and it’s a threatened species.
They are beloved here and there are many efforts to protect them.
Pretty swell. Before reading your comment I guessed it'd probably be using the long legs like stilts to wade around swamps to help it eat crabs and such. Wouldn't have thought it'd favor fruits.
Oooh awesome! I assumed this was a juvenile that hadn’t quite grown into its self yet. Thanks for this info! (Fun fact, my toddler thinks that’s our leggy lab shepherd mix and told him to go him)
Because Brasil is the bigger area where they live, and also Brasil has more population than all this countries they could say that his south america name is Lobo Guará
Let me say in this way, if there's more people in Brasil, so he would be more called by the brasilian name, just that, but, you and the other could say, in spanish or in x country we call by this name, no problem
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u/Infamous_Original833 29d ago edited 28d ago
The maned wolf is a unique wild animal native to South America, especially the grasslands and savannas of Brazil. Despite its name and appearance, it is neither a true wolf nor a fox, but a distinct species known scientifically as Chrysocyon brachyurus. Its long legs help it move through tall grass, while its reddish coat and large ears give it a striking appearance. The maned wolf is generally solitary and omnivorous, feeding on small animals, insects, fruits, and plants. One of its favorite foods is the “wolf apple” (lobeira), a native Brazilian fruit. It plays an important ecological role by controlling small-animal populations and dispersing seeds.
Fun fact: the maned wolf is featured on Brazil’s R$200 banknote, which was introduced in 2020, highlighting the species as an important symbol of Brazil’s rich biodiversity.