Maned wolves are a type of canid that lives in the savannas of South America. They are omnivores – they eat meat and plants, including fruit. When they poop, they help spread the seeds of the plants they eat, helping new plants to grow.
A group of maned wolves recently moved into Iberá National Park in Argentina. Using camera traps to monitor them from a distance, researchers observed a new behavior, never documented before in wild maned wolves! They saw the mother regurgitating food for her three pups. Regurgitation is when an animal brings up swallowed food back into its mouth. You may have seen birds regurgitating to feed their young.
There are about 23,600 maned wolves in South America. About 660 of these live in Argentina.
*First posted on Mongabay Kids on November 17, 2021.
For more on this story, visit Mongabay.com:
Footage courtesy of Fundación Rewilding Argentina, an NGO that partners with Tompkins Conservation.