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Maned wolves are very interesting representatives of the animal world. This species belongs to the canine family. Representatives of the species have exquisite external data. Seeing them, you can decide that these are not wolves, but foxes. After all, maned wolves are very similar to them.
In fact, this species has nothing to do with the fox. They do not even have vertical pupils, which are a mandatory attribute of the appearance of foxes. The birthplace of these amazing animals is South America.
Where do they live
These animals live in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay. They prefer to live on plains covered with grass and shrubs. You can also see them on the outskirts of the swamps. In the mountains, these wolves do not live. As a rule, they settle where a large number of various small rodents and other animals live. It is on them that maned wolves hunt.
Appearance
A distinctive feature of animals of this species are slender legs. They are quite long and thin. But this feature does not make these animals fast runners. Long legs enable the animal to see better at sufficiently large distances. This helps the wolves not only hunt prey, but also not become a victim of a hunter who can wait for him.
Representatives of this species have a reddish-brown color, but on the tip of the tail, as well as on the chin, their hair is light. On the legs, the coat is colored in a dark shade. In the neck it is longer than on the rest of the body. If an animal is frightened of something or is trying to frighten someone itself, then this hair stands on end.
It is this feature that is the source of the idea of the name of the species - the maned wolf. Like other representatives of the canine family, these animals have 42 teeth. Depending on the situation and situation, maned wolves are able to make a variety of sounds. They communicate with each other with the help of a loud and long drawl. To scare off and drive off rivals, they use a dull grunt. At sunset, you can hear loud barking from them.
On average, the body of an adult animal has a length of 1 m 25 cm. The length of the tail varies from 28 to 33 cm. Weight reaches 22 kg. As a rule, in the wild, a maned wolf can live about 12-15 years. A case was recorded when the wolf lived 17 years. Among representatives of this species, plague disease is very common.
Lifestyle
Like all related species, maned wolves tend to be active at night. At this time they go hunting. A day for them is a time for rest. It is very difficult to see a maned wolf in nature. After all, there are not so many of these animals on the planet. There is a threat of extermination of this species, and they are very afraid of humans.
Hunting with maned wolves lasts long enough. They await their prey, sitting in ambush for a long time. He attacks only when he is waiting for the right moment. Thanks to the large ears, the maned wolf can hear prey or threat even at a great distance. And thanks to the long legs, the wolf can see the victim even in tall grass.
The predator first knocks on the surface of the earth with its paw to frighten its prey, and then attacks it with a quick jerk. The hunt ends with success for this adroit predator almost always. He leaves no chance for his victim to survive.
In the wild, males and females of this species live together in the same territory. At the same time, they go hunting separately. Before going to bed, they also disperse to their usual places. Interestingly, when keeping wolves in captivity, both the female and the male are engaged in raising their cubs together.
Males violently guard the territory in which they live. If any uninvited guest arrives there, he is expelled from there. But among themselves, these animals do not show aggression. Their attitude can even be called good-natured. Attacking brethren is extremely rare.
By nature, representatives of this species are single. Life in the pack is not peculiar to them. Among representatives of the animal world, maned wolves do not have enemies. Their main enemy is man. Usually people shoot them when predators climb into their sheds to steal a bird.
Nutrition
The basis of the diet of maned wolves is various small animals. They can eat birds, and snails, and eggs, and various insects. As a rule, they swallow their whole food, practically without chewing it. This is due to the fact that the jaws of these wolves are very weak. With large animals, they can not cope. Therefore, wolves do not attack such animals.
Their jaws are not able to break hard large bones. Often, maned wolves raid poultry sheds, which is why they are victims of man. But such cases are quite rare. Cases of attacks of these animals on humans are unknown. They show friendliness not only towards each other, but also towards people. The diet of the maned wolf includes not only meat, but also plant foods. They really like to enjoy bananas. Another favorite food of these animals is wolf berries. These are very poisonous fruits, but they help the wolf to escape from a large number of parasites that settle in his body. When strawberries and strawberries ripen, maned wolves also eat them with pleasure.
Breeding
The period of mating in maned wolves falls, as a rule, from October to February or from August to October. It depends on where the animals live. Reproduction is affected by the hemisphere in which wolves live. Their interesting distinguishing feature from other canids is that they do not dig holes, but remain on the surface.
Interestingly, puppies are born with short paws. In the process of growth, their length gradually increases.
A very important feature of these animals is that they never attack humans. At least, such cases have never been recorded. As a rule, they are distinguished by normal peaceful behavior in relation to both people and their brothers. Unfortunately, every year the number of these animals is steadily declining. This species is listed in the Red Book, since there is a great danger of extinction.
Video: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
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