The Amazon's "ghost dog": the wild canid almost no one has seen, now being revealed by camera traps

Deep in the Amazon rainforest lives a wild dog most people have never heard of. It's the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), one of South America's most mysterious mammals. Researchers who have spent years in the Amazon say they've never laid eyes on one. That's why it's often described as a "ghost" of the forest.

What it looks like

At first glance it resembles a dark fox: fur ranging from gray to reddish-brown to black, a bushy tail and a long snout. It weighs about 9 or 10 kilograms (around 20 pounds) and, as the name suggests, has small, rounded ears, very different from those of other canids. It also has a surprising feature: partially webbed toes, an adaptation that probably helps it move through waterlogged ground and swim.

It's the only member of its genus. Although it's called a "dog," it's only distantly related to domestic dogs; it belongs to a group of South American canids that evolved on the continent after the Isthmus of Panama formed.

Where it lives

Its range covers the Amazon basin across several countries: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, and possibly Venezuela. It prefers undisturbed tropical rainforest near rivers, streams and seasonally flooded areas. It's a solitary animal, active mainly during the day and at dusk, though its behavior varies by region.

Camera traps: the eyes that never sleep

For decades, almost everything known about this animal came from a handful of museum specimens and occasional sightings. That changed with camera traps: small devices strapped to trees that are triggered by motion or heat. They can sit in the forest for months with no one around.

Thanks to studies using networks of cameras across the Amazon, and to pioneering projects at places such as the Cocha Cashu biological station in Peru, scientists have begun to piece together data on its range, activity patterns and diet. Even so, in many surveys the short-eared dog shows up in only a tiny number of photos among thousands of images of other animals, which gives a sense of how rare and secretive it is.

What it eats

It's a generalist predator. Analyses of droppings and field observations show it eats fish, crabs, frogs, small mammals, birds, insects and fruit. Its fondness for water fits a diet in which aquatic animals play a major role. Like other carnivores, it helps keep prey populations in check and spreads seeds through the forest.

Threats

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Near Threatened. Its main problems are:

• Deforestation, which fragments and destroys the forest it depends on.
• Diseases from domestic dogs, such as distemper and rabies, which can spread when human settlements move closer to its habitat. This is thought to be an especially serious risk for an animal with such small populations.
• Roads and mining, which cut into the forest and bring more people.
• Wildfires, increasingly frequent in parts of the Amazon during drought years.

Why an animal almost nobody sees matters

Elusive animals like this one are, in a sense, thermometers of forest health. If short-eared dogs survive in an area, it's usually a sign that the forest is in relatively good shape. Protecting their habitat benefits thousands of other species, from jaguars to tiny frogs, as well as the human communities that depend on the rainforest.

How you can help from home

• Support conservation organizations working in the Amazon, especially those that partner with local and Indigenous communities.
• Choose products with certifications showing they don't come from deforestation, such as certified wood.
• If you live near natural areas, vaccinate your dogs and don't let them roam loose in the forest.
• Join citizen-science projects that help classify camera-trap photos: many online platforms ask volunteers to identify animals in the images.

A mystery worth keeping alive

At a time when it seems everything has been photographed and explored, the short-eared dog reminds us that nature still keeps secrets. Every new camera-trap photo is a small scientific victory. That it keeps padding through the rainforest, invisible to almost everyone, may be the best news of all.