First record of Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) (Mammalia: Canidae) in the municipality of Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The number of occurrences of maned wolf in the Atlantic Forest has increased in the last decade. However, records of Chrysocyon brachyurus for lowland Atlantic Forest localities are rare. Here, we present an unprecedented record of a maned wolf in the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, victim of vehicle collision on the Rio-Santos road. This record is related to habitat loss due to changes in the use of the Cerrado's soil and to the increase in open areas in the Atlantic Forest. These changes facilitate the dispersion of the maned wolf and bring it closer to humans, increasing the chances of accidents such as collisions with motor vehicles.

Germination of fruits eaten by the maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) (Carnivora, Canidae)

“…Furthermore, C. brachyurus can disperse seeds of plants that have a wide distribution, including those that occur in areas of contact between the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. The maned wolf has expanded into areas of this biome (Bereta et al 2017;Muscat et al 2021) to consume the available fruits (Motta-Júnior & Martins 2002, Kotviski et al 2019; therefore, this species may contribute to the natural regeneration of degraded areas once covered by the Atlantic Forest. Thus, actions that contemplate the conservation of C. brachyurus, and consequently its ecological and functional role as a seed disperser, can assist in the implementation of management practices aimed at the maintenance or recovery of important ecological processes, including those in landscapes with anthropogenic modifications.…”

“…The maned wolf was historically widely distributed in the grassland and Cerrado areas of central South America (Paula et al 2018), and its geographical distribution in Brazil was limited by the Amazon Forest in the north and the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest biomes in the northeast (Queirolo et al 2011). However, the number of maned wolf records in the Atlantic Forest biome has been increasing in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Paraná, particularly in deforested, agricultural, pastural, and urban areas (Bereta et al 2017;Muscat et al 2021). Despite this recent expansion toward the Atlantic Forest (Xavier et al 2017), the disorderly growth of urban centers and consequent loss and alteration of the Cerrado (Coelho et al 2008), which is the main habitat of this species, has caused a considerable reduction in suitable environments for the maintenance of maned wolf populations (Paula et al 2018).…”