×
FREE ASSISTANCE FOR THE INQUISITIVE PEOPLE
Tutorial Topics
X
softetechnologies
Zebra Duiker Platypus
Maned Wolf - Strange Animals
2261    Dibyendu Banerjee    07/06/2020

Despite of its name and look, the Maned Wolf is neither a wolf, nor a fox. It belongs to the canidae family, but it is not closely related to any other living canid. Its evolutionary relationship to the other members of the canid family makes it a unique animal, which is not closely related to any other living canid. However, its closest living relative is the bush dog and has a more distant relationship to other South American canines. Its name owes its origin to its distinctive black mane on its neck, which stands erect, when it scents danger or display aggression.

softetechnologies

With its lanky, black legs, the maned wolf is the tallest of the wild canids. In fact, it owes its distinctive and impressive stature to its disproportionately long legs, which probably evolved as an adaptation to the tall grasslands of its habitat. They help the animal to see above the long grass while running and looking for prey. It stands 35 inches (90 cm) tall at the shoulder, has a head-body length of about 39 inches (100 cm), while the tail adding another 18 inches (45 cm). An adult maned wolf weighs around 23 kg. They have long, reddish-brown pelage over their rather large bodies, covering necks, backs and chests, with a whitish tuft at the tip of the tail and beneath the throat. Their ears are large and long and muzzles are black.

maned wolf

The maned wolves can generally be found in open grasslands with scattered bushes and trees in southeast Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, southeast Peru and rarely in Uruguay. They are omnivorous, eating a combination of fruits, vegetables and meat. Their diet mainly includes tubers and different fruits, particularly lobeira, a small tomato-like berry that, along with other fruits and vegetables, makes up 50 percent of their diet. However, they often prey rodents, rabbits, frogs, birds and even fishes.

softetechnologies

The maned wolves are solitary by nature and mainly a twilight animal. However, on cold and cloudy days they can be active throughout the day. They prefer to hunt alone, but mate for convenience, needing a partner to help defend territories of up to 12 to 15 square miles and use urine to mark their territories. Their urine has a very distinctive odor that smells a lot like marijuana smoke. They do not howl, but emit loud barks or roar barks to let their mate know their position and to warn other wolves to stay away.

maned wolf

The maned wolves live in monogamous pairs, but the male and female rarely interact, apart from the breeding season. Vocalizations and scent markings increase before mating. During the breeding season, between April and June, they come together to reproduce and after a gestation period of around 65 days, the female begets one to five pups. The fur of the puppies looks almost dark, which gradually turns to a reddish hue. Females are responsible for raising pups, but sometimes males also pitch in to help. After nursing the pups for four weeks, the mother introduces them to her regurgitated food. The pups generally become mature within a year and leave the parents' territory to find their own.

maned wolf

The life span of maned wolves in the wild is unknown, but in human care, median life expectancy is 6.5 years with a maximum of 12 to 15 years.

Zebra Duiker Platypus
softetechnologies
Author Details
Dibyendu Banerjee
Ex student of Scottish Church College. Served a Nationalised Bank for nearly 35 years. Authored novels in Bengali. Translated into Bengali novels/short stories of Leo Tolstoy, Eric Maria Remarque, D.H.Lawrence, Harold Robbins, Guy de Maupassant, Somerset Maugham and others. Also compiled collections of short stories from Africa and Third World. Interested in literature, history, music, sports and international films.
Enter New Comment
Comment History
No Comment Found Yet.
Albert Einstein
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
Albert Einstein
1521
59.47
Today So Far
Total View (Lakh)
softetechnologies
26/05/2018     44338
01/01/2018     36726
25/06/2018     36300
28/06/2017     34765
02/08/2017     33321
01/08/2017     27720
06/07/2017     27486
15/05/2017     27080
14/07/2017     22796
11/09/2018     21441
softetechnologies