Bush dog
Speothos venaticus (Lund, 1842)
The bush dog (Speothos venaticus), also called the vinegar dog or savannah dog, is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and diurnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 6 kg, with reported values from 4 to 7 kg.
Quick facts about the bush dog
Gestation lasts 68 days, litters average 4.1 young, and it has 2 litters per year, reaching sexual maturity at 342 days. The IUCN Red List classifies the bush dog as Near Threatened, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 4 kg – 7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10.3 years – 14.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 60 days – 70 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.13src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.5 months – 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the bush dog
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the bush dog live?
Not recorded
What is the bush dog?
The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first described by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossils in Brazilian caves and was believed to be extinct.
The bush dog is the only extant species in the genus Speothos, and genetic evidence suggests that its closest living relative is the maned wolf of central South America or the African wild dog. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.
In Brazil, it is called cachorro-vinagre ('vinegar dog') and cachorro-do-mato ('bush dog'). In Spanish-speaking countries, it is called perro vinagre ('vinegar dog'), zorro vinagre ('vinegar fox'), perro de agua ('water dog'), and perro de monte ('shrub or woodland dog').
From the Wikipedia article “Bush dog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bush_dog&oldid=1382768969), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the bush dog endangered?
The bush dog is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the bush dog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyCanidae
- genusSpeothos
- SpeciesSpeothos venaticus (Lund, 1842)
Synonyms Cynogale venatica
Other names and names in other languages (58)
- Savannah dogEnglish
- Savannah dogEnglish
- Vinegar dogEnglish
- Vinegar dogEnglish
- BoshondAfrikaans
- AsynhundAfrikaans
- كلب الخلArabic
- كلب الآجامArabic
- كلب السافاناArabic
- Gos dels matollsCatalan
- pes pralesníCzech
- WaldhundGerman
- Σκύλος των θαμνώνωνGreek
- UmbaSpanish
- Cachorro De Mato VinagreSpanish
- Cachorro VinagreSpanish
- GuanfandoSpanish
- Pero SelvSpanish
- Pero SelváticoSpanish
- Perrito de MonteSpanish
- Perrito VenaderoSpanish
- Perro de AguaSpanish
- Perro de la SelvaSpanish
- Perro De MonteSpanish
- Perro GrulleroSpanish
- Perro VenaderoSpanish
- Perro VinagreSpanish
- Zorrito VinagreSpanish
- Zorro PitocoSpanish
- Zorro VinagreSpanish
- suokoiraFinnish
- ZorroFrench
- Chien Des BuissonsFrench
- Chien-boisFrench
- Chiens des BuissonsFrench
- Őserdei kutyaHungarian
- erdei kutyaHungarian
- SpeotoItalian
- ItticioneItalian
- ヤブイヌJapanese
- 덤불개Korean
- BushhundNorwegian Bokmål
- BuskhundNorwegian Bokmål
- SkoghundNorwegian Bokmål
- Pies leśnyPolish
- pakożer leśnyPolish
- CachorrinhoPortuguese
- Cachorro-do-mataPortuguese
- Cachorro-do-mato-cotóPortuguese
- Cachorro-do-mato-vinagrePortuguese
- Cachorro-pitocoPortuguese
- Cachorro-vinagrePortuguese
- Guaxinim-vermelhoPortuguese
- Кустарниковая собакаRussian
- Matu dagusrm
- skogshundSwedish
- บุชด็อกThai
- çalı köpeğiTurkish
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the bush dog
Other species in the same genus Speothos.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the bush dog?
The bush dog is a mammal in the family Canidae, within the order Carnivora and suborder Caniformia.
How much does a bush dog weigh?
An adult bush dog weighs 6 kg, with reported values from 4 to 7 kg.
What does the bush dog eat?
The bush dog is a carnivore.
Is the bush dog endangered?
No. The bush dog is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a bush dog live?
The bush dog has a lifespan of 10.3 years, with values up to 14.1 years reported.
How many young does a bush dog have?
A bush dog litter averages 4.1 young, with 2 litters per year after a gestation of 68 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bush dog (Speothos venaticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bush-dog
“Bush dog (Speothos venaticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bush-dog.
@misc{bush_dog_2026,
title = {Bush dog (Speothos venaticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bush-dog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}