This kinda reminds me of that good ol’ fashioned dad joke from Dumb & Dumber, when Harry says:
“I once cross-bred a bulldog and a Shih Tzu… I called it a ‘bull shit.'”
However, all dad jokes aside, this is a real life situation, and it’s pretty hard to wrap your mind around.
According to BGR, South America’s native “maned wolf” looks like a mix between a deer and a fox…
However, it’s neither. In fact, it’s not even in the wolf family.
The technical term for this rare creature, is Chrysocyon brachyurus, which basically means this creature is in a class of its own.
These “maned wolves” can weigh up to 70 pounds, and have a red coat of fur, extremely similar to the fur of a fox. Their legs are pure black, with tall ears on top of their heads. They can grow up to three-feet long, and live in savannah-like areas.
Originally, these creatures were found in Uruguay. However, urbanization and the “use of their body parts for traditional medicine,” has forced them to migrate out of their native country, with most of them found in Brazil now.
Another difference between this creature and a wolf is that it is mainly omnivorous. Although it feeds off meat every now and then, it mainly feeds off vegetables, fruits, and insects. The “maned wolf” typically hunts alone, so it does not hunt animals larger than itself. The two creature’s biggest enemies are the domestic dog, and the puma.
Due to urbanization from its native habitat, the maned wolf faces threats of extinction day in and day out.
Their typical cause of death are vehicle accidents, as the creatures tend to cross numerous busy urbanized areas.
Farmers are also a threat to the creature, as they will hunt packs of these due to the loss of chickens or other farm animals. Not to mention, certain body parts are said to have therapeutic benefits in modern medicine.
Nevertheless, it’s still wild to think about how this half deer/half fox looking creature, is neither apart of those families, or the wolf family.
