The Behavioural Patterns and Habits of the Maned Wolves

Abstract

Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) also known as lobo de crin is a canid that lives in habitat that has been severely impacted by agricultural developments (Songsasen & Rodden, 2010). They are the largest canid of South America which resembles a large fox with reddish fur (Rodden, Sorenson, Sherr, & Kleiman, 1996). The population of maned wolf is currently in decline because of habitat loss and IUCN lists them as near threatened with number of mature individuals to be around 17,000 (IUCN, 2015). There have been very few research studies conducted on reproductive behavior of this species and most of the study focuses on habitat management, ecology and habitat range. Dietz (1984) and Rodden et al. (1996) have published study on maned wolf behaviors and we will use previously published data to study the precopulatory and post copulatory behaviors during breeding season. We are trying to learn the interaction between mates during and after breeding season. This will serve as a non-invasive technique to find the pair for mating. The results from this study will provide great insight on interaction between mates and their mating behavior.

Introduction

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the largest canids of South America, are recognized by their long, slim legs and golden red fur (Rodden et al., 1996). The Maned wolf looks like a fox, is called a wolf but it’s not related to neither. Maned wolves are known by several names in their native habitat such as lobo guara, boroche and lobo de crin (Barbiers et al., 1995). Maned wolves are native to grassland of South America and found solely in central Brazil, northern and eastern Bolivia, Argentina, south-eastern Peru and Paraguay (Queirolo et al., 2011; Songsasen & Rodden, 2010). Maned wolves are currently listed as Near Threatened on 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened species (IUCN, 2015). IUCN lists the number of mature individuals to be around 17,000.The population is increasingly at risk as a result of habitat modification for agricultural use (Songsasen & Rodden, 2010). This appears to be the greatest threat for wild population (Rodden et al., 1996). The greatest loss of maned wolf range has been in southern Brazil and Uruguay (Queirolo et al., 2011). Unlike most canids, maned wolf is a solitary animal and typically hunts alone between sundown and midnight (Dietz, 1984). Maned wolves are monoestrous (Brady & Ditton, 1979), having one estrous cycle per year, with 3-5 months breeding season in captivity (Songsasen & Rodden, 2010). In North America, mane wolves breed primarily from late October through February (Dietz, 1984) and April through June in southern hemisphere (Songsasen & Rodden, 2010).

Most research on Maned wolves focuses on habitat loss, reproductive biology, ecology and historical range. Recent improvements in technology has made quite impact on the field of reproductive biology such as invitro maturation of oocytes and invitro fertilization. There are some studies on solitary, friendly, agonistic and marking behaviors (Barbiers et al., 1995; Dietz, 1984; Rodden et al., 1996). Few studies have been conducted to detect pregnancy, however, there are no recent studies on reproductive behavior and precopulatory behavior in maned wolves. The purpose of this study is to use previously learned behaviors of maned wolves to learn more about their precopulatory and postcopulatory behaviors in captive population. We are trying to learn how male and female interact with each other before and after copulation. This will serve as a non-invasive technique to find the pair for mating and minimize contact with humans.

Methods

This study will be conducted in Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. The study will take place for two years between the month of October and February which seems to be ideal breeding season. The observation will take place from 6am to 10 am and 4 pm to 9 pm since Maned wolves are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). There are currently 16 individual living in SCBI and of those, 10 are of breeding age (“Maned Wolf Matchmaking,” 2018). The maned wolf husbandry manual from Barbiers et al. (1995) provide information on protocol for introductions of maned wolves. Visual and olfactory contact through a wire mesh barrier for 2 weeks is necessary for individuals to become familiar with each other (Barbiers et al., 1995). Once they are familiar with each other, they will have limited access depending on their behavior. SCBI has a perfect layout for maned wolf enclosure where it is divided into two parts with a small access point in middle. Once they are placed in one enclosure, observation will be recorded in different categories such as approach, friendly, sexual, scent mark, agonistic and bark (Table 1 provides detailed description of each observations which was derived from Dietz (1984) and Rodden et al. (1996)). After observation is collected, we will analyze the data and look into frequent behaviors before and after copulation.