Darwin's fox

Darwin Fuchs

The Darwin Fox ( Lycalopex fulvipes; Syn: Pseudalopex fulvipes ) is a small, highly endangered species of the Real dogs. He was discovered in 1831 by the famous naturalist Charles Darwin on the island of Chiloe, which lies off the Chilean coast. For a long time it was an island form of the Argentine Kamp fox ( Lycalopex griseus ) are considered, but with the discovery of a small population on the South American mainland in Nahuelbuta National Park in 1990 and subsequent genetic analyzes, it was clear that the species status is warranted.

Discovery

In 1831, Charles Darwin killed in his voyage on the Beagle a fox on the island of Chiloe with his geologist's hammer. He described him as a rare, typical of this island and of a kind not yet described one first described him as ( Dusicyon fulvipes ), later ranked him but to the Argentine Kamp fox, there was no morphological basic features that clearly distinguished him from this. Its occurrence on the island seemed to confirm the suspicion that it is merely a variant of the island Argentine gray fox. As one in the 1960s, Darwin Foxes in the 600 km further north past Nahuelbuta National Park discovered on the South American mainland, the subspecies status, however, was called into question again. Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA have now shown beyond doubt that it is a unique species is the Darwin Fuchs and Darwin had finally right.

Features

The Darwin fox has a dark brown coat with reddish areas on the head and face. He does not pair with other Lycalopex species and is smaller and darker than this. Also, his legs are shorter than those of the species from the mainland. With only 2-4 pounds, it is much smaller than a fox Argentine Kamp ( Lycalopex griseus ), which brings 5-10 kilograms.

Dissemination

In the late Pleistocene Chiloé Island was connected by a land bridge to the South American continent. Dense forests covered the island and adjacent parts of southern South America. These inhabited the Darwin Fox, who at an early age from a common ancestor of the Argentine Kamp fox ( Lycalopex griseus ) and the Andean jackal ( Lycalopex culpaeus ) had split off. About 15,000 years ago, this land bridge sank into the sea because the sea level rise due to melting of the ice-age glaciers. This resulted in two separate populations of Darwin Fox, one on the island, the other on the mainland. There you can find them today, but the distribution is shrunk to the mainland by climatic causes and human activities greatly and now confined to a small area around the Nahuelbuta National Park.

Way of life

The Darwin Fox is apparently a typical forest animal which inhabits the southern temperate rainforests. He is mainly active at dusk and before dawn.

Diet and hunting behavior

The Darwin fox is an omnivore that easily adapts to the particular circumstances. Its diet consists of larger parts of insects as well as small mammals (rodents, rabbits and Pudus ), birds, amphibians and reptiles. In some months, the proportion of fruits and berries increases in food to 20 percent. For the mainland population are also plants seeds of meaning. Rarely eats the Darwin fox carcasses of medium-sized pets. On Chiloé any fox hunts usually alone, although already several animals were spotted on a carcass.

Social behavior and reproduction

Studies conducted with camera traps suggest that Darwin Foxes on Chiloé outside the mating season live lonely. Each animal has a 1.5 km ² large district that it shares with several other males and females. For the mating, the male lives a few days along with a female and leaves it again, so that young animals of the island population are cared for only by their mothers. Mating and rearing of young animals take place from October to January. Before birth, the female seeks a natural hiding place, such as rock crevices, on.

On the mainland keep the monogamous pairs longer and here the male guards the young animals when the female is in search of food. Normally, two to three cubs are born. Lactating females were observed in the National Park from October to February. Equipped with radio transmitters copies were about seven years old.

Stock

It is assumed that only about 250 animals on Chiloé Iceland and less than 70 on the mainland. IUCN, the species is classified as threatened with extinction. The destruction of forests around the national park and dogs that plagues bring in and attack the foxes are the main causes for low population densities.