Fazenda Barranco Alto hosts several research projects. One of them is a survey on mammal diversity and densities by the german biologists Möcklinghoff et al. from the Department of Tropical Ecology of the Zoological Research Museum Koenig at Bonn. This week they recorded the first documented sighting of the brazilian bush dog (Speothos venaticus, cachorro-vinagre) here on Fazenda Barranco Alto (for exact position click here).

These canids are extremly rare throughout their distribution range and photographs of them in the wild are even more extraordinary. This picture (and 3 more) was taken by a digital camera trap used in a 1x1km grid.

Bush dogs live in packs of up to 10 individuals and hunt in group, being able to bring down much larger prey than themselves.

Another very interesting property are their webed feet, indicating a high adaptation to wet environments like the Pantanal.

For better pictures follow this link: Google Images