Maned wolf
Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815)
The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is a living mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora, and the sole subject of this page within the genus Chrysocyon. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial carnivore of grassland that is nocturnal, with an adult body mass of 23.25 kg.
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Quick facts about the maned wolf
Gestation lasts 64 days, litters range from 2 to 5 young with a representative value of 3, and sexual maturity is reached at 2 years. The IUCN lists the maned wolf as Near Threatened (NT) in its global assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 22.3 kg – 23.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- up to 1.1 msrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 15.7 years – 16.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 64 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the maned wolf
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the maned wolf live?
Not recorded
What is the maned wolf?
The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost locally extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox but it is neither a fox nor a wolf. It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon (from Greek χρῡσο-κύων [chrúso-kúōn], "golden dog"). The maned wolf's young pups appear to have darker fur than the bronze, grown ones.
It is the largest canine in South America, weighing 20–30 kg (44–66 lb) and up to 110 cm (43 in) at the withers. Its slender legs and dense reddish coat give it a distinctive appearance. The maned wolf is a crepuscular and omnivorous animal adapted to the open environments of the South American savanna, with an important role in the seed dispersal of fruits, especially the wolf apple (Solanum lycocarpum). The maned wolf is a solitary animal. It communicates primarily by scent marking, but also gives a loud call known as "roar-barking".
This mammal lives in open and semi-open habitats, especially grasslands with scattered bushes and trees, in the Cerrado of south, central-west, and southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and Bolivia east and north of the Andes, and far southeastern Peru (Pampas del Heath only). It is very rare in Uruguay, possibly being displaced completely through loss of habitat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as near threatened, while it is considered a vulnerable species by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources. In 2011, a female maned wolf, run over by a truck, underwent stem cell treatment at the Zoo Brasília in the first recorded case of the use of stem cells to heal injuries in a wild animal.
From the Wikipedia article “Maned wolf” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maned_wolf&oldid=1383858254), 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 maned wolf endangered?
The maned wolf 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 maned wolf classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyCanidae
- genusChrysocyon
- SpeciesChrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815)
Synonyms Canis brachyurus, Canis branhyurus, Canis campestris, Canis isodactylus, Canis vulpes, Vulpes caricrosa
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- MaanhaarvosAfrikaans
- MaanhaarwolfAfrikaans
- Suid-Amerikaanse WolfAfrikaans
- ذئب ذو العرفArabic
- pes hřivnatýCzech
- MankeulvDanish
- MähnenwolfGerman
- Λύκος με χαίτηGreek
- kolhara lupoEsperanto
- BorochiSpanish
- Aguara GuazuSpanish
- Aguará GuazúSpanish
- Lobo De CrinSpanish
- Lobo de crínSpanish
- LakkhuntEstonian
- harjasusiFinnish
- Loup à crinièreFrench
- faolchú mongachIrish
- lobo de crinaGalician
- (ze'év haršamá) זאב הרעמהHebrew
- sörényes farkasHungarian
- CrisocioneItalian
- Lupo dalla crinieraItalian
- 鬣狼 (tategami-ōkami)Japanese
- タテガミオオカミJapanese
- Жалды қасқырKazakh
- 갈기늑대Korean
- 갈기늑대 (galgineukdae)Korean
- ManenwolfDutch
- wilk grzywiastyPolish
- pampasowiec grzywiastyPolish
- GuaráPortuguese
- AguaráPortuguese
- AguaraçuPortuguese
- Lobo GuaráPortuguese
- Lobo-guaráPortuguese
- Гривистый волкRussian
- гривистый волк (grívistyj volk)Russian
- manhundSwedish
- ManvargSwedish
- หมาป่าเคราขาว ()Thai
- yeleli kurtTurkish
- Вовк гривастийUkrainian
- 鬃狼 (zōngláng)Chinese
Relatives of the maned wolf
Other species in the same family Canidae.
Wolf
Canis lupus
Red fox
Vulpes vulpes
Coyote
Canis latrans
Golden jackal
Canis aureus
African wild dog
Lycaon pictus
Dhole
Cuon alpinus
CompareManed wolf vs WolfManed wolf vs Red foxManed wolf vs CoyoteManed wolf vs Golden jackal
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 maned wolf?
The maned wolf is a mammal in the family Canidae, within the order Carnivora and suborder Caniformia.
Is the maned wolf endangered?
No, it is listed as Near Threatened (NT) by the IUCN in its global assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What does the maned wolf eat?
The maned wolf is a carnivore.
How heavy is a maned wolf?
An adult maned wolf has a body mass of 23.25 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
How long does a maned wolf live?
The maned wolf has a lifespan of 15.67 years, with values up to 16.8 years reported.
How many young does a maned wolf have?
A maned wolf has 3 young per litter, with litters from 2 to 5 reported, after a gestation of 64 days.
Where does the maned wolf live and when is it active?
The maned wolf lives on the ground in grassland and is nocturnal.
Who named the maned wolf?
The scientific name Chrysocyon brachyurus is attributed to (Illiger, 1815).
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). Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/maned-wolf
“Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/maned-wolf.
@misc{maned_wolf_2026,
title = {Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/maned-wolf},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}