[AniGal] Animal Intro: South America’s Rarest Canine, the “Short-eared Dog”

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The rarest extant canine, the 'Small-eared dog' or 'Short-eared dog.' In English, it's the 'Short-eared dog,' and you can tell why it's so rare just by looking at its habitat.

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The map shows where it *could* live based on its physical traits, not necessarily where it's been confirmed, so we don't know for sure if its range is actually that wide. It's mostly spotted in places where humans almost never set foot, making it incredibly hard to observe or study.

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It's frequently found in areas where tall trees and rivers coexist. This is because the species is extremely timid; they hide in the shade of tall trees to avoid humans and other species, and their diet consists mostly of aquatic life. Since they're so shy, even the local tribes barely knew they existed (kinda like the Okapi) and just treated them like some random dog-like animal. (They're very harmless and weak). Researchers went through absolute hell from 2015 to 2022—seven years of struggle—to study them. (Dealing with Amazonian blood-sucking insects, unsanitary conditions, and even soaking their clothes in fishy water to hide their human scent). They finally managed to start filming and researching.

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(The face itself just screams 'timid') The short-eared dog has short, thin limbs, a small head, and small ears, but its tail is bushy like a fox's. They're estimated to weigh 5-10kg, but there's not enough data to get a solid average yet. They have webbed feet on both front and back paws, showing they've adapted well to the weird environment of the Amazon. Their fur is dark, likely to avoid predators. Interestingly, females are about 1/3 larger than males (unlike most canines where males are bigger). A unique trait is that they move with the agility of a cat, unlike other canines. For breeding, the males spray a specific scent from glands in their bushy tails to let others know their location. They are solitary animals. Not much is known about their lifespan, but they hit sexual maturity late—at least 3 years or more—whereas most other canines hit it in 1-2 years.

As mentioned, their diet is mostly aquatic. The breakdown is: 28% fish, 17% insects (aquatic), 13% small mammals, 10% various fruits, 10% birds (flightless ones like tinamous), 10% freshwater crabs, 4% frogs, and 3% lizards. It's a rare case among canines to have such a high percentage of fish and frogs (though its close relative, the Crab-eating Fox, does eat some frogs). If you look at the South American canine family tree...

Looking at the South American canine family tree, this guy pretty much branched off on its own. Its closest relative is the Crab-eating Fox. Their ancestors came from North America through Panama about 2.5 million years ago and split off early to evolve in a way that avoids competition with other canines or species. Since there's so little info, we don't even know if they're endangered. So currently, scientists are...

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Catching them, tagging them with trackers for research, and giving them vaccinations for canine diseases. TMI: Apparently, once they get used to humans, they are easier to tame than almost any other canine. Source: Animal Fight Gallery [View Original]