Maned Wolf

The term maned wolf is an allusion to the mane of the nape. It is known locally as (meaning "large fox") in the Guarani language, or kalak in the Toba Qom language, in Portuguese, and , , or in Spanish. The term lobo, "wolf", originates from the Latin . Guará and aguará originated from Tupi-Guarani agoa'rá, "by the fuzz". It also is called borochi in Bolivia.

Although the maned wolf displays many fox-like characteristics, it is not closely related to foxes. It lacks the almond-shaped pupils found distinctively in foxes. The maned wolf's evolutionary relationship to the other members of the canid family makes it a unique animal. Electrophoretic studies did not link Chrysocyon with any of the other living canids studied. One conclusion of this study is that the maned wolf is the only species among the large South American canids that survived the late Pleistocene extinction. Fossils of the maned wolf from the Holocene and the late Pleistocene have been excavated from the Brazilian Highlands. A 2003 study on the brain anatomy of several canids placed the maned wolf together with the Falkland Islands wolf and with pseudo-foxes of the genus Pseudalopex. One study based on DNA evidence showed that the extinct genus Dusicyon, comprising the Falkland Islands wolf and its mainland relative, was the most closely related species to the maned wolf in historical times, and that about seven million years ago it shared a common ancestor with that genus. A 2015 study reported genetic signatures in maned wolves that are indicative of population expansion followed by contraction that took place during Pleistocene interglaciations about 24,000 years before present. The maned wolf is not closely related to canids found outside South America. It is not a fox, wolf, coyote or jackal, but a distinct canid; though, based only on morphological similarities, it previously had been placed in the Canis and Vulpes genera. |2=†Dusicyon australis (Falkland Islands wolf)}} }} |2= |2= }} }} }} |2=Cerdocyon thous (crab-eating fox) }} |2=Atelocynus microtis (short-eared dog) }} }} }} }}

Genetically, the maned wolf has 37 pairs of autosomes within diploid genes, with a karyotype similar to that of other canids. It has 76 chromosomes, so cannot interbreed with other canids. Evidence suggests that 15,000 years ago, the species suffered a reduction in its genetic diversity, called the bottleneck effect. However, its diversity is still greater than that of other canids.

=== Hunting and territoriality === The maned wolf is a twilight animal, but its activity pattern is more related to the relative humidity and temperature, similar to that observed with the bush dog (Speothos venaticus). Peak activity occurs between 8 and 10 am, and 8 and 10 pm. On cold or cloudy days, they can be active all day. The species is likely to use open fields for foraging and more closed areas, such as riparian forests, to rest, especially on warmer days. Monogamous pairs may defend a shared territory around , although outside of mating, the individuals may meet only rarely. The territory is crisscrossed by paths that they create as they patrol at night. Several adults may congregate in the presence of a plentiful food source, for example, a fire-cleared patch of grassland that would leave small vertebrate prey exposed while foraging. Both female and male maned wolves use their urine to communicate, e.g. to mark their hunting paths or the places where they have buried hunted prey. At the Rotterdam Zoo, this smell once set the police on a hunt for cannabis smokers. The preferred habitat of the maned wolf includes grasslands, scrub prairies, and forests.

]] Their mating season ranges from November to April. Gestation lasts 60 to 65 days, and a litter may have from two to six black-furred pups, each weighing roughly . Pups are fully grown when one year old. During that first year, the pups rely on their parents for food. Hormonal changes of maned wolves in the wild follow the same variation pattern of those in captivity. Three-month-old pups begin to accompany their mother while she forages. Males and females both engage in parental care, but it is primarily done by the females. Data on male parental care have been collected from captive animals, and little is known whether this occurs frequently in the wild. Maned wolves reach sexual maturity at one year of age, when they leave their birth territory. The maned wolf's longevity in the wild is unknown, but estimates in captivity are between 12 and 15 years. A report was made of an individual at the São Paulo Zoo that lived to be 22 years old.

The maned wolf participates in symbiotic relationships. It contributes to the propagation and dissemination of the plants on which it feeds, through excretion. Often, maned wolves defecate on the nests of leafcutter ants. The ants then use the dung to fertilize their fungus gardens, but they discard the seeds contained in the dung onto refuse piles just outside their nests. This process significantly increases the germination rate of the seeds. Maned wolves suffer from ticks, mainly of the genus Amblyomma, and by flies such as Cochliomyia hominivorax usually on the ears. The maned wolf is poorly parasitized by fleas. The sharing of territory with domestic dogs results in a number of diseases, such as rabies virus, parvovirus, distemper, canine adenovirus, protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, bacterium Leptospira interrogans, and nematode Dirofilaria immitis. The maned wolf is particularly susceptible to potentially fatal infection by the giant kidney worm. Ingestion of the wolf apple could prevent maned wolves from contracting this nematode, but such a hypothesis has been questioned by several authors. It is preyed upon mostly by large cats, such as the puma (Puma concolor) and more commonly the jaguar (Panthera onca).

Generally, the maned wolf is shy and flees when alarmed, so it poses little direct threat to humans. Popularly, the maned wolf is thought to have the potential of being a chicken thief. It once was considered a similar threat to cattle, sheep, and pigs, particularly in Argentina, North America (part of a Species Survival Plan) and Europe (part of a European Endangered Species Programme). In 2012, a total of 3,288 maned wolves were kept at more than 300 institutions worldwide. The Smithsonian National Zoo Park has been working to protect maned wolves for nearly 30 years, and coordinates the collaborative, interzoo maned wolf Species Survival Plan of North America, which includes breeding maned wolves, studying them in the wild, protecting their habitat, and educating people about them.

The practice of hunting maned wolves is historically poorly documented, but it is speculated to be relatively frequent. This is partly because during the Portuguese and Spanish colonization of South America, Europeans projected onto the maned wolf the historical aversion they had towards Iberian wolves, and their reputation for eating sheep and other domestic animals. Although the species is now seen in a better light, many people still consider it a potential risk to domestic birds and children. In Brazil, the impacts of hunting on the species are better known than in Argentina, as is the impact of predation on domestic birds, which engenders retaliation from farmers. The species is also accused of attacking sheep, which increases human animosity. In Brazil, people also aimed to prevent these animals from attacking chickens, using a Brazilian variant of the Portuguese podengo, called the Brazilian podengo or Crioulo podengo.

, Brazil.]] The maned wolf is not considered an endangered species by the IUCN because of its wide geographical distribution and adaptability to man-made environments. However, due to declining populations, it is classified as a near-threatened species. This decline is mostly due to human activities such as deforestation, increasing traffic in highways resulting in roadkill, and urban growth. Due to the decrease in their habitat, the wolves often migrate to urban regions looking for easier access to food. This increases their contact with domestic animals, as well as the risk of infectious and parasitic diseases amongst the wolves which can lead to death. Until 1996 the maned wolf was a vulnerable species by the IUCN. It is also listed in CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade in the species. By these same criteria, the Brazilian state lists also consider it more problematic: it is a vulnerable species in the lists of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, while in the lists of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul the maned wolf is considered as "endangered" and "critically endangered" respectively. The situation of the maned wolf in Bolivia and Paraguay is uncertain. Even with these uncertainties the maned wolf is protected against hunting in all countries.

Human attitudes and opinions about the maned wolf vary across populations, ranging from fear and tolerance to aversion. In some regions of Brazil, parts of the animal's body are believed to help cure bronchitis, kidney disease, and even snake bites. It is also believed to bring good luck. In Bolivia, mounting a saddle made of maned wolf leather is believed to protect from bad luck. Despite these superstitions, no large-scale use of parts of this animal occurs. It has also been represented on the 100-cruzeiros reais coin, which circulated in Brazil between 1993 and 1994.