Check out these bush dogs caught on camera trap!

Get to know me:

  • I am a bush dog (scientific name: Speothos venaticus).
  • I am a canid – a canid is a group of dog-like mammals that includes foxes, wolves, coyotes, jackals, dingoes, and other dog-like species.
  • I am most closely related to the maned wolf and the African wild dog.
  • I am found in parts of Central America and South America, but I am rarely seen.
  • I live in the rainforest and also other habitats like savannas.
  • I am a carnivore – a meat eater – and I eat rodents.
  • I am small and muscular and I have a short tail.
I am a dog-like animal, but some people think I look somewhat like a small bear. What do you think?

Bush dog:

Xerini, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Karelj, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brown bear:

© Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Robert F. Tobler, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What features of mine are similar to the brown bear? How do I look different from the bear? Do I remind you of any other dog-like animal?
Fantastic! Well done. We become better observers of nature when we notice the similarities and differences between types of animals (or plants!).