The shrub dog, the photo of which is now in front of you, is an extremely secretive animal. His story began very unusual. Once scientists managed to find the remains of an unknown beast until then, they decided, of course, that these were bones of an extinct creature, and gave it the name "cave dog".
What was the surprise of the zoologists when the same cave dog was discovered in the tropical forests of South America, which was listed as extinct from the face of the Earth. Due to secrecy, this animal simply did not catch the eye of people. In size, the shrub dog resembles an ordinary fox, only more massive. It is very difficult for zoologists to study this beast, but science still knows something about its lifestyle. This will be discussed in this article.
Description
The body of a shrub dog is elongated, compact, with well-developed muscles. Paws are relatively short, strong. Thanks to its limbs, the beast is able to run very fast. The tail is short, well pubescent, but far from the fabulous magnificent tail.
The head is medium in size, heavy, with a blunt short muzzle. The ears are very small, pretty, a little rounded. The eyes are almond-shaped, small in size, dark, the color of the coat.
The coat is smooth and hard to the touch. The color of the fur coat of the animal is dark brown with a reddish tinge.
Area
In the wild, a shrub dog chooses places to live in, where it is possible to hide and hide from enemies. These creatures live in forests, in the pampas and bushes, and you can also meet them in the swamps.
A shrub dog, which spreads over a rather vast territory, is less and less found in nature. The area is the northern part of South America from Bolivia and Brazil to Panama.
Shrub dog: lifestyle
The cave dog belongs to pack animals. She spends all her life in a group. Dogs sleep in holes at night, and hunt in the morning or evening. The flock is controlled by an alpha male. In a predatory family, members recognize each other by smell. If you have to scatter through the thicket of the forest, they have something in common, making a howl.
These small, but bold and determined predators mark their territory with odorous marks. In the face of danger, a bushy dog growls and grins its teeth. She bravely defends her territory, when attacking, she rushes at the enemy, trying to immediately cling to her throat.
These daredevils feed mainly on small rodents. Favorite food - guinea pigs, agouti, paki. If dogs are hunted in packs, they are able to cope with capybara, rhea and even young deer. In addition to food of animal origin, they enjoy treating themselves with the fruits of plants that are found on earth.
Although these cave predators do not like to be in the spotlight, constantly hiding from people, it is still possible to tame them. Local residents even got used to using small toothy animals in hunting. In zoos, they take root poorly, do not like enclosed spaces. However, like any other freedom-loving creature.
Breeding
Twice a year, a female shrub dog is ready for fertilization. The estuary lasts about 13-15 days. The fact that she began the mating season, the female informs the males with tags with a specific smell. Usually she sprays trees on her territory with urine.
A cave dog hatches calves about 63-66 days. The main offspring is born in autumn. Before giving birth, the expectant mother digs a hole for herself and her offspring. In one litter there are from 4 to 6 babies. They feed on mother’s milk for six months, but after four months they begin to eat food, which the male burped. Interestingly, not only dad and mom guard the puppies and guard them. Other members of the pack also take part in this.
Kids live with their parents for a year and a half, then leave them, but not in all cases. Sometimes the younger generation remains in the family for a long time, so cubs of different ages are in the pack of dogs.
Shrub dog: interesting facts
The more animals hide, the more we want to know about them. Shrub dogs are rather peculiar animals, many interesting things are known about them. They swim perfectly, prove themselves to be skilled divers.
Communicating with each other, they use a wide range of sounds: barking, howling, whining.
Representatives of this species, which are contained in the Lincoln Zoo, successfully practice their hunting skills on rats, mice, and even pigeons.
Shrub dog has an old English name, which sounds like a "hunting cave jackal."
Being excellent swimmers, during the hunt the dogs drive the game into the water, where other members of the pack are waiting for them. Thus, it is easier for them to kill the victim.
Shrub dogs never quarrel during distribution of prey and willingly share it with each other.
In nature, there are many interesting and unusual living things. The shrub dog aroused universal interest in itself as it was considered extinct. It is good all the same that scientists were mistaken, and these nimble animals live on our planet.