Maned Wolf Profile

Scientific Name: Chrysocyon brachyurous

Region:  The grasslands and scrub forest of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru

Size: Adult Maned Wolves average one meter in height and weigh between20-25kg

Diet: Omnivorous

Lifespan: Up to 20 years in the wild

Status in the Wild:  Near Threatened

The Maned Wolf was brought to our attention to by one of our twitter followers @Heidi4Zoo, who sent us the photo of the stunning Maned Wolf named Caesar, who we have used as the cover for this profile.

Unlike most of the animals we have profiled, tweeted about or posted on Facebook and Instagram about so far, none of us here at the pocket zoo had previously herd of this rare and fascinating creature and were really grateful for the opportunity to get to research and learn about them.

Often nicknamed Fox’s on stilts due to their distinctive red and black coats and their long lean legs, these wolves are incredibly striking animals. They have many unusual traits that make them incredibly distinct from other species of Wolf, to start with they are omnivorous meaning they eat meat, predominantly small rodents as well as fruit and vegetation, this is in contrast to most species of Wolf which are for the most part exclusively carnivores (meat eaters only).

Maned Wolves are incredibly intelligent and efficient hunters, they can rotate their large ears to listen for prey animals in the grass, then they tap the ground with a front foot to flush out the prey and use their speed and agility to pounce quickly and catch it.

Also unique for a species of wolf is the fact the Maned Wolf lives a mostly solitary life, they tend to live and hunt alone with the exception of females with pups. Most other wolfs are pack animals living and hunting in groups often containing Male, Females and pups. Despite this almost entirely solitary existence , Manned wolves are also monogamous creatures meaning the same male and female , will find each other to mate , during the mating season each year.

These fascinating creatures are rare with only an estimated 15,000 left and sadly their numbers in the wild are falling. Habitat destruction is the main threat to Maned Wolves. They have almost no natural predators, but nevertheless they are in danger because they need wide, uninterrupted spaces. Tragically Maned Wolves are also hunted and killed for their body parts, which some wrongly and ignorantly believe to have magical properties.

If you want to learn more about these wonderful creatures or if you want to donate to helping Maned wolf conservation, we strongly recommend you visit the WWF. If you have an animal that you think we should profile , we’d love to hear from you on any of our social channels or e-mail us at thepocketzoo@gmail.com.

As always thanks for reading

🙂