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The ‘ghost dogs’ of the Amazon – one of the world’s most elusive animals – are thriving and more active than previously thought, according to new footage.
The short-eared dog, known scientifically as Atelocynus microtis, has long been regarded as one of Latin America’s most mysterious carnivores.
Its elusive nature, combined with acute hearing and a powerful sense of smell, has allowed it to avoid human contact for decades, leaving researchers with only a handful of confirmed sightings.
However, a study published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation has provided new insights into the species through nearly 25 years of research and camera-trap monitoring in Bolivia and Peru.
Researchers say advances in remote sensing technology have transformed their understanding of the animal.
According to lead author Robert Wallace, the breakthrough came when scientists first photographed the species using camera traps in 2001.
Recognising the significance of the discovery, researchers began compiling data from across the Amazon basin.
Over the following two decades, scientists gathered 500 distribution records in Bolivia and carried out 34 intensive camera-trap surveys across lowland regions of Bolivia and Peru, particularly within the Greater Madidi-Tambopata and Llanos de Moxos biocultural landscapes.
The project produced 594 independent photographic records, representing the largest collection of confirmed short-eared dog observations anywhere within the species’ range.
The lead author described the research as a ‘wonderful example of how conservation technology and remote sensing – in this case the intensive use of camera traps – can provide substantial data on one of the least known species of the Amazonian rainforests’.
Images captured by the camera traps revealed distinctive physical characteristics, including a dark coat ranging from blackish-grey to reddish-brown, a large head, very small rounded ears, short legs and a long bushy tail.