Deep in the Amazon rainforest lives a seldom-seen beast known as the short-eared “ghost dog.” There’s an air of mystery surrounding the wild dogs because it uses its keen sense of smell and hearing to avoid humans, which means information about them is scant—for example, there are only four museum specimens in existence.
Now, new research published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation is finally shedding some light on these cryptic canids.
True to their name, the short-eared dogs (Atelocynus microtis) have small round ears, short legs, long bushy tails, and partially webbed paws (similar to other canids in the Amazon). According to previous research, they primarily feed on fish, insects, and small mammals, but have also shown a predilection for scavenging the cadavers of larger animals...