Opinions sought on a fox in Bolivia.
I have deliberately not put the exact location so people aren’t swayed by what it ‘should’ be. Any thoughts on this? Apologies for the poor photos.
Thanks
Steve
Post author
7 Comments
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Nathan Myhrvold
I agree, that it could be a pampas fox. It also could be a culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus). Both of these foxes have red/orange/yellow on head and legs, and can have gray elsewhere. The other South American foxes tend to be much more gray – like the crab eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), and South American gray fox (Lycalopex griseus). But all of these foxes have somewhat different coloration across their range, as one can see searching for internet pictures.
In general, the culpeo is a western South American animal, and the Pampas fox is eastern. So if this was in the Andes of Bolivia it’s probably a culpeo. But if it is in the eastern part of Bolivia, more likely pampas fox.
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Jonatan den Haan
Hi Steve,
Given the:
– Grayish mix with red tones especially the coloration on the flanks and the backs
– Relative slender body type
– Open habitatmy opinion strongly leans towards a Pampas Fox.
Also on Wikipedia it says:
“The Pampas fox resembles the culpeo or Andean fox in appearance and size, but has a proportionately wider snout, reddish fur on the head and neck, and a black mark on the muzzle”. The wider snout is not really visible from this angle, but the black mark on the muzzle is!Happy mammalwatching!
Jonatan -
stevebabbs
Thanks for your comments. The location certainly very strongly indicates pampas fox: it was photographed at Kaa Iya. The guide called it as pampas but both I and John Dixon, who was with me, were struck by how similar it was to the photograph in Webb and Blincow of culpeo and I have the Mammals of the World on my knee and it does resemble the painting of culpeo in that too so I was interested in what other people thought. I would certainly like it to be pampas as that is a tick. I am always rather reluctant to tick on range in case their have been misidentifications in the past.
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Charles Foley
I would say Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocerca) based on the amount of yellow on the face and legs.