Lycalopex Culpaeus
South American foxes, also know as zorros, aren’t really foxes- they are more closely related to wolves, coyotes and jackals. The culpeo is the largest South American fox species, weighing from 12 to 30 pounds (5-13.5 kg).
Culpeos are essentially the coyotes of South America. They are highly adaptable animals and live in a variety of habitats in western South America. These habitats include mountains, coastal beaches, plains, and deserts. Their distribution extends all the way from Ecuador and Peru to southern Patagonia.
Since most of their prey is active at night the culpeo is primarily nocturnal, although some populations are more active during the day (diurnal) or at dusk and dawn (crepuscular). Their diet consists mostly of rodents and rabbits but they also prey on lizards, birds, plants, carrion, and occasionally sheep, which makes them a target for shepherds.
Culpeos are very solitary animals, only seen in pairs during the breeding season and when they have pups. Even though they are very solitary and attack sheep, people attempted to domesticate them. This attempt didn’t go very well and the result, called a Fuegian dog or Yaghan dog, was only around until the early 1900′s. The dogs were used for hunting otters but they were apparently not loyal to their owners and frequently attacked livestock.
I rate the culpeo 14/10. They may have been bad dogs but they are very good foxes
Photo Credits:
(1) Torsten Klein (2) Bernardo Segura (3) doglime.com (4) Thomas Fuhrmann (5) Joel Sartore