The Maned Wolf and why its urine smells of cannabis
The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), also known as the aguará guazú, which means 'big fox' in Guaraní, is the tallest canid in existence. Its name alludes to the long black hairs on the top of its neck, but it is also known as the 'wolf on stilts' because it has thin, endless legs (like socks and stockings) that help it to walk in pastures or flooded terrain and raise its head above the undergrowth in which it moves. Undoubtedly, the perfect result of millions of years of evolution to adapt to its environment, the extensive savannah of Brazil, although it is also found in the pampas of Peru and the scrublands of Paraguay and the northern part of Argentina.
It is a very enigmatic animal, solitary by nature (unlike other large canids, the maned wolf does not form packs) and a species rarely photographed in its environment and for which very little information exists. In fact, it is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to intense deforestation of its habitat, a vast territory once dominated by wild grasslands that are now cultivated with eucalyptus, pine, soya bean and sunflower plantations.