Staff at Nordens Ark, a zoo in Sweden, suddenly found themselves caring for two maned wolf cubs when their mother tragically passed away just six days after they were born.

Because their mother had taken such good care of them the first few days, the staff decided to try bottle feeding the cubs, and the results were successful (and adorable).

Sadly, they were still without a role model or someone to care for them, but there was one person that staff thought maybe be able to help ... their father.

"Maned wolves are solitary and live alone even though the male and female share the same living area, so the female takes sole care of the cubs," "Our male has been very involved from the beginning and has stayed outside the den to guard the cubs." a staff member at Nordens Ark told.


Since the dad of the pups seemed unusually invested in them, the staff decided to try introducing him to the cubs ... with the sweetest results. Despite his normal role, the wolf knew that his cubs needed him, and so he stepped up to care for them when no one else could. The sweet cubs may have lost a mother, but they still have a family.

The maned wolf is the largest canine species in South America and closely resembles a red fox on stilts because of its long legs.

 It is known locally as aguará guazú (meaning "large fox" in the Guarani language), or "kalak" by the Toba, lobo de crin, lobo de los esteros, or lobo colorado, and as lobo-guará in Brazil. It also is called borochi in Bolivia.

It is neither a wolf, fox, coyote, or dog but rather a member of its own Chrysocyon genus(meaning "golden dog"), making it a truly unique animal. They possess a mane that runs from the back of the head to the shoulders which can be erected to intimidate other animals when displaying aggression or when they feel threatened.

Unlike other wolves that live in packs, maned wolves do not form or hunt in packs but prefer to live alone. Maned wolf is considered as the last surviving species of the Pleistocene Extinction, which wiped out all other large canids from the continent.


The maned wolf is the tallest of the wild canids, its long legs probably are an adaptation to the tall grasslands of its native habitat.

Maned Wolves are not closely related with any other living Canid (wolf, dog or fox) and one study suggests that they may be the sole South American surivivor of the mass extinction of large Canids at the end of the last ice age.

Although the maned wolf displays many fox-like characteristics, it is not closely related to foxes and lacks the elliptical pupils found 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 canids studied. One conclusion of this study is that the maned wolf is the only survivor of the late Pleistocene extinction of the large South American canids.


Fossils of the maned wolf from the Holocene and the late Pleistocene have been excavated from the Brazilian Highlands.


The maned wolf is also known for its distinctive odor, which has earned it the nickname "skunk wolf."

 However its stronghold, the Brazilian Cerrado, is vanishing rapidly to industrialized agriculture and urban development. Now, a new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science reveals the key role of buffer zones and unprotected areas in keeping the maned wolf from extinction in the Cerrado savannah, where only 2 percent of the ecosystem is under protection.

"The overwhelming majority of the species' habitat [...] lies in private areas with no formal or legal protection. Outside the protected areas, the maned wolf faces a myriad of impacts and hazards, including habitat transformation, agriculture expansion, city sprawl, and road proximity, among many others," the scientists write.

To better understand how the maned wolf is coping, the researchers studied the animal's scat between 2006-2008 in a protected area's buffer zone near the city of Belo Horizonte. In an area that is undergoing iron ore mining, unregulated tourism including off-road vehicles, and sprawling urban development, researchers were surprised to find "the rather elusive and shy maned wolf" still present.

 "This result is very important because the maned wolf, like other species of large mammals inhabiting the Cerrado, might not be able to survive in the long term solely within nature reserves," the scientists write.

Over the two years of research, the scientists found 95 maned wolf scats. The droppings proved that while maned wolves remained present, their diet was less diverse as it was in nearby protected areas.


"[This] likely reflects the disturbed nature of the study area," the authors write. "On the other hand, [the presence of the wolf] suggests that the study area, although disturbed and unprotected, can still provide natural food resources for the maned wolf."

 The researchers urge the establishment and better-management of buffer zones around protected areas in Brazil in order to conserve the maned wolf and other imperiled Cerrado species.

"Very few buffer zones have been implemented in Brazil, and the reality is that the immediate region surrounding the protected areas is not different at all from rural areas at large," the scientists write, adding that legal issues, political weakness, and poor management have undercut buffer zones in the country.


"If nothing changes in Brazil regarding the creation and management of buffer zones, their role in conservation is not only compromised, but also they can have negative impacts such as the introduction of domestic animals and their associated diseases into protected areas," they add.

The maned wolf, which is the only animal in the genus Chrysocyon and the largest canid on the continent, is currently listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

 CITATION: Lima Massara, R., de Oliveira Paschoal, A. M., Hirsch, A. and Garcia Chiarello, A. 2012. Diet and habitat use by maned wolf outside protected areas in eastern Brazil. Tropical Conservation Science Vol. 5(3):284-300. (Source)

The Maned wolf is a very fascinating animal. Despite its name, the maned wolf is not a wolf at all, or a fox, coyote, or dog. It is the only member of the Chrysocyon genus, making it a truly unique animal, not closely related to any other living canid. It is believed that the maned wolf is the last surviving species of the Pleistocene Extinction, which wiped out all other large canids from the continent.

The maned wolf is native to South America, but is mainly found in Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru. The ancestors of the maned wolf are thought to have spread from North to South America about two million years ago. Broken away from other wolf species in North America, the maned wolf evolved into the unique animal that it is today.

It is known as the "stilt-legged fox" because that is what it mostly resembles. It is around 3 feet high, and weighs around 50 pounds, with most of that height coming from the legs. It is also a beautiful red color, with black and white highlights, much like the red fox.

The maned wolf is a nocturnal animal, which means that it sleeps during the day and hunts during the night. It also tends to hunt alone. It is known as an omnivore. It loves to eat the fruit "lobeira", which is a tomato-like fruit. This consists of half of the wolf's diet while the other half consists of small mammals, reptiles, birds and their eggs, and insects. At one time captive maned wolves were traditionally fed meat-heavy diets and this caused them to develop kidney stones.

The maned wolf lives a solitary life unlike the gray wolves which prefer to live in a pack. It does mate for life also but only interacts with its partner during breeding season. The pair of maned wolves, while they may not interact until breeding season, both share and defend the same territory.


There are two reasons that threaten the existence of the mane wolf. Habitat destruction is the main threat to maned wolves. They have almost no natural enemies, but nevertheless are in great danger because they need wide, uninterrupted spaces. The other reason is the human facter, because people kill the mane wolves for their body parts, which are believed to have magical properties. Superstitious beliefs say that the right eye is said to bring luck with gambling. It is also believed that a necklace with a maned wolf tooth worn by children prevents future dental problems. It would be a terrible shame to lose such a unique animal to the ignorant and self-serving practices of mankind.

Although 2012 has only just begun, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia (SCBI-FR), already has something to celebrate in the new year: the birth of four Maned Wolf pups Jan. 5. It is the first litter born at SCBI-FR in two years and will play an important role in helping researchers maintain a viable, self-sustaining population under human care.

“Every pup born here helps us understand more about the biology of this incredible species,” said Nucharin Songsasen, an SCBI research biologist. “SCBI has a long history with the Maned Wolf, both in terms of studying the biology and maintaining the genetic diversity of individuals living under human care, as well as in conserving the animals in the wild.”

The four pups were born to mother, 8-year-old Salina, and father, 4-year-old Nopal, who was born at SCBI-FR. Maned Wolf pups have a 50 percent mortality rate in the first month, so keepers are monitoring them closely. This litter is particularly valuable because Nopal is the 10th most genetically valuable male among the 36 reproductively viable males in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan, which matches animals across the country to ensure genetic diversity in the population. Seventy-two maned wolf pups have been born at SCBI-FR since 1975, and the facility currently has 12 wolves, including the pups. The National Zoo has two maned wolves on exhibit at the Cheetah Conservation Station.


Maned wolves are difficult to breed under human care and in the past five years the North American population has declined 20 percent. Researchers believe that the reproductive challenges are caused, in part, by gastrointestinal disorders that are common in the species and may be linked to diet. As a result, SCBI is one of 19 institutions participating in a study to determine whether a plant-based diet that more closely simulates the diet of maned wolves in the wild boosts reproductive rates. Salina and Nopal are both on the new trial diet.

SCBI researchers have also been working to advance knowledge about the reproductive physiology of maned wolves. They were the first to confirm that, unlike most other canid species, the maned wolf is an induced ovulator, which means that a female needs to be around a male to ovulate. The next step for SCBI is to determine whether the male emits chemical cues that spur ovulation. SCBI researchers are also perfecting the science of maned wolf artificial inseminations so that even behaviorally or reproductively challenged animals can be represented in the gene pool.

“To keep a high level of gene diversity, it is important that every genetically valuable individual reproduce,” said Melissa Rodden, coordinator of the Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan. “SCBI is leading the research on innovative tools that will help us ensure that that will happen.”

Maned wolves live in central South America. With approximately 20,000 left in the wild, the species is considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The species’ primary threats include habitat loss and degradation and human conflict. Currently only 20 percent of natural maned wolf habitat remains, and only 5 percent of that habitat is protected.

SCBI is working with researchers in Brazil to look at how human development affects the dynamics and competition for food and territory between three canid species there: maned wolves, crab eating foxes and hoary foxes. Because human–wildlife interactions are one of the main threats to the animals, the end goal of this work is to develop an education and outreach program to mitigate the conflict.

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