26-440: The culpeo ( Lycalopex culpaeus ), also known as Culpeo zorro , Andean zorro , Andean fox , Paramo wolf , Andean wolf , and colpeo fox , is a species of South American fox . Despite the name, it is not a true fox , but more closely related to wolves and jackals . Its appearance resembles that of foxes due to convergent evolution . The culpeo's diet consists largely of rodents , rabbits , birds and lizards , and to
52-464: A genus from South America of the subfamily Caninae . Despite their name, they are not true foxes , but are a unique canid genus more closely related to wolves and jackals than to true foxes; some of them resemble foxes due to convergent evolution . The South American gray fox , Lycalopex griseus , is the most common species, and is known for its large ears and a highly marketable, russet-fringed pelt . The second-oldest known fossils belonging to
78-600: A gestation period of 55–60 days, the female gives birth usually to between two and five pups. The taxonomy of the culpeo has been the topic of debate due to their high phenetic variability and the scarcity of research, among other things. Over the past three decades, they have been placed variably in the genera Dusicyon (Clutton-Brock, et al. , 1976; Wozencraft, 1989), Canis (Langguth, 1975; Van Gelder, 1978), Pseudalopex (Berta, 1987; Wozencraft, 1993; Tedford et al. , 1995) and Lycalopex (Zunino, 1995; Wozencraft, 2005). This canid, like other South American foxes ,
104-522: A lesser extent, plant material and carrion . They may prey on Andean flamingos and baby vicuña . The culpeo occasionally attacks sheep and is, therefore, often hunted or poisoned. In some regions, it has become rare, but overall the species is not threatened with extinction . The culpeo was domesticated by the Selk'nam people of Tierra del Fuego , producing the Fuegian dog which became extinct in
130-576: A significant sum. Within a few years, foxes became virtually extinct in a large part of Argentina. The Fuegian dog ( Spanish : perro yagán, perro fueguino ), also known as the Yaghan dog , was a domesticated form of the culpeo ( Lycalopex culpaeus ), unlike other domesticated canids which were dogs and silver foxes. This means different canid species have been domesticated multiple times by humans independently. Geoffroy%27s cat Oncifelis geoffroyi Geoffroy's cat ( Leopardus geoffroyi )
156-483: A wide variety of habitats of western South America. They are found in broadleaf Nothofagus temperate rainforest , sclerophyllous matorral , deserts , chaparrals , and plateaus , like the Altiplano , up to the tree line (4,800 metres (15,700 ft)). The culpeo is an opportunistic predator that will take any variety of prey. It mainly feeds on rodents (including common degus ) and lagomorphs (especially
182-524: Is a small wild cat native to the southern and central regions of South America . It is around the size of a domestic cat . It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to it being widespread and abundant over its range. Geoffroy's cat is named after the 19th century French zoologist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844). It was identified as Felis geoffroyi in 1844 by French naturalists Alcide d'Orbigny and Paul Gervais on
208-433: Is about 60 cm (24 in) in head and body with a relatively short tail of about 31 cm (12 in). It weighs between 2 and 5 kg (4.4 and 11.0 lb), though individuals up to 7.8 kg (17 lb) have been reported. Males are usually larger than females, and Geoffroy's cat in the south are larger than those from the north. It has a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 106.3. The Geoffroy's cat
234-431: Is about the size of a domestic cat , but has numerous black spots and dark bands on the cheeks, head and neck as well as on the tail and limbs. The background colour of its fur varies from a brownish-yellow coat in the northern part of its range to a more grayish coat in the south. The underbelly hair is cream-coloured or even white. The backs of the ears are black with white spots. Black individuals are common. Its size
260-718: Is distributed in Argentina, Bolivia , Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It inhabits pampas and savanna landscapes in the Gran Chaco from southern Bolivia to the Straits of Magellan ranging at elevations from sea level up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) in the Andes . It prefers open woodland or scrubland with plenty of cover, but also occurs in grasslands and marshy areas. It is thought to be rare in Chile. The Geoffroy's cat
286-753: Is nocturnal and a solitary hunter that contacts conspecifics only during the mating season. Geoffroy's cats have been observed to stand up on their hind legs to scan the surrounding landscape and use their tail as a support, an unusual behaviour among cats. It is able to climb trees but rarely does, except to leave faeces to scent mark its territory. It preys primarily on rodents , hares , other small mammals , birds , snakes , small lizards , insects , and occasionally frogs and fish . Females maintain home ranges about 2 to 6 km (0.77 to 2.32 sq mi) in size, while males range over up to 12 km (4.6 sq mi). The breeding season for Geoffroy's cats lasts from October to March. During this time,
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#1732776398197312-677: Is still sometimes classified as a member of the genus Pseudalopex . As Pseudalopex and Lycalopex have largely come to describe the same genus, either classification is acceptable, although the modern practice is to give Lycalopex prominence. Short-eared dog Crab-eating fox Sechuran fox Culpeo Pampas fox South American gray fox Darwin's fox Hoary fox Maned wolf Bush dog South American fox The South American foxes ( Lycalopex ), commonly called raposa in Portuguese , or zorro in Spanish , are
338-528: The Andean foothills across the Patagonian plain. They sometimes take young lambs up to 1 week old. In limited studies, the larger culpeo appears to dominate potential competitors, including South American gray foxes , Geoffroy's cats , pampas cats , grisons and various raptorial birds. In the southeastern Argentine Patagonia region, culpeos generally tend to consume more of the introduced European hare than
364-476: The South American gray fox does year-round, while the gray fox tends to consume more rodents. However, during colder seasons, the culpeo's diet overlaps more with the gray fox due to a lack of variety in prey, thus causing prey partitioning as the culpeos use their size advantage to exclude the gray fox from areas with higher concentrations of prey. Its range also overlaps that of the much larger puma , but
390-587: The basis of three specimens that d'Orbigny had collected on the banks of the Rio Negro in Patagonia during his travels in South America between 1826 and 1833. Five subspecies have been described based on geographic dispersement: Since 2017, Geoffroy's cat is considered a monotypic species. Genetic studies have shown that Geoffroy's cat is most closely related to the kodkod . The Geoffroy's cat
416-440: The domestic cat. The eyes open after eight to nineteen days, and they begin to eat solid food at six or seven weeks. Kittens become independent of their mother at around eight months, but are generally not sexually mature until 18 months for females and 24 months for males. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Geoffroy's cats were hunted extensively for their pelts for the international fur trade, but little trade took place after 1988 and
442-771: The evolutionary relationships between the Lycalopex species, based on molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. Lycalopex vetulus ( hoary fox ) [REDACTED] Lycalopex sechurae ( Sechuran fox or Peruvian desert fox) Lycalopex fulvipes ( Darwin's fox ) Lycalopex gymnocercus ( pampas fox ) [REDACTED] Lycalopex griseus ( South American gray fox or chilla) Lycalopex culpaeus ( culpeo or Andean fox) [REDACTED] The zorros are hunted in Argentina for their durable, soft pelts. They are also often labelled 'lamb-killers'. In his diary of his well-known 1952 traveling with
468-488: The female comes into estrus for periods of up to twelve days, between three and five weeks apart. Mating during this time is brief and frequent, often taking place on a high ledge or similar site. Gestation lasts for 72–78 days. Most births occur between December and May. Litters consist of one to three kittens, and one or two is more common. The kittens are born blind and helpless, weighing about 65 to 95 g (2.3 to 3.4 oz), and develop rather slowly compared to
494-550: The genus were discovered in Chile , and date from 2.0 to 2.5 million years ago, in the mid- to late Pliocene . The Vorohué Formation of Argentina has provided older fossils, dating to the Uquian to Ensenadan (Late Pliocene). The common English word "zorro" is a loan word from Spanish, with the word originally meaning "fox". Current usage lists Pseudalopex (literally: "false fox") as synonymous with Lycalopex ("wolf fox"), with
520-428: The introduced European rabbit and European hare ); however, it occasionally feeds on domestic livestock and young guanacos . They will also feed on insects , birds , lizards , fruit , and carrion of llamas and vicuñas . Culpeos are considered beneficial because they are significant predators of the rabbits introduced in 1915; such introduced rabbit populations are believed to have allowed culpeos to spread from
546-407: The late 19th or early 20th century. The culpeo is a canid intermediate in size between a red fox and a coyote . It is the second-largest native canid on the continent after the maned wolf . In appearance, it bears many similarities to the widely recognized red fox. It has grey and reddish fur, a white chin, reddish legs and a stripe on its back that may be barely visible. The average weight of
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#1732776398197572-471: The latter taking precedence. In 1895, Allen classified Pseudalopex as a subgenus of Canis , establishing the combination Canis (Pseudalopex) , a name still used in the fossil record. Species currently included in this genus include: In 1914, Oldfield Thomas established the genus Dusicyon , in which he included these zorros. They were later reclassified to Lycalopex (via Pseudalopex ) by Langguth in 1975. The following phylogenetic tree shows
598-425: The male is 11.4 kg (25 lb), while the typically smaller females average 8.4 kg (19 lb). Overall, a weight range of 5 to 13.5 kg (11 to 30 lb) has been reported. Total length can range from 94 to 133 cm (37 to 52 in), including a tail of 32 to 44 cm (13 to 17 in) in length. The pelt has a grizzled appearance. The neck and shoulders are often tawny to rufous in color, while
624-467: The size difference ensures that the two species have limited competition. They are known to eat the carcasses of vicuñas. Culpeos have also been observed preying upon introduced beavers in Tierra del Fuego. During a period of drought in central Chile's scrublands lagomorphs , coati , goats , and cattle make up a large amount of their diet. The typical mating period is between August and October. After
650-593: The upper back is dark. The bushy tail has a black tip. The culpeo's range extends from the southern regions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego in the south to Ecuador and Peru in the north, with some populations extending into southern Colombia . It is also found in the Sierras Grandes mountain range in Córdoba, Argentina . It is most common on the western slopes of the Andes , where it inhabits open country and deciduous forests . The culpeo lives in
676-414: The young Che Guevara , Alberto Granado mentions talking with seasonal workers employed on vast sheep farms, who told him of a successful campaign by the ranch owners to exterminate the foxes who were preying on lambs. The ranchers offered a reward of one Argentinian peso for the body of a dead male fox and as much as five pesos for a female fox; to impoverished workers in the early 1950s, five pesos were
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