Posted on 07/10/2025 12:53:05 PM PDT by Red Badger
A mysterious creature found in Brazil has scientists questioning everything they know about wild canids. With a strange mix of dog and fox traits, this rare hybrid is raising serious concerns.
Dogxim' Was Discovered After A Car Accident In 2021. Credit: Instagram/forrest.galante | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel
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A strange discovery in southern Brazil has left the scientific community stunned. In 2021, a female canid was found near Vacaria, a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, after being struck by a car. What seemed like an ordinary accident quickly turned into an extraordinary puzzle. Veterinarians and scientists were perplexed by the animal’s unusual appearance—one that did not fit the profile of any known species.
A Genetic Puzzle: Dog or Fox?
Initial examinations showed that this animal was neither a domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) nor a wild fox, but something in between. Further analysis revealed an astonishing truth: the creature was a hybrid, a combination of a domestic dog and a pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), a species native to South America’s grasslands.
This discovery, published in Animals, has now been confirmed as the world’s first scientifically recognized hybrid between these two species, which diverged from a common ancestor roughly 6.7 million years ago.
Researchers at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul used advanced genetic techniques to uncover that the hybrid, named the dogxim, had 76 chromosomes—a unique number that lies precisely between the 78 chromosomes of domestic dogs and the 74 of pampas foxes. The animal’s genetic composition raised more questions than answers, leaving many to wonder about the implications for wildlife conservation.
The Dogxim: A New Breed of Canid?
While the dogxim’s genetic makeup was extraordinary, its physical characteristics were equally remarkable. The animal had the elongated snout and thick, coarse fur of a pampas fox, but also displayed canine traits such as barking and a playful nature. Despite this, it rejected processed foods like kibble and preferred eating live rodents, a behavior more commonly associated with wild foxes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBFm6hABb_i/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=56a75ca7-7132-4093-817a-59e6ba81b3dc&img_index=1
Flávia Ferrari, an environmental advocate who cared for the animal during its rehabilitation, described it as “not a dog, not a fox, but an incredible hybrid.” She noted that its personality was timid and cautious, unlike a typical dog, but it lacked the usual aggression of a wild canid when handled. Unfortunately, the dogxim passed away in 2023, just months after its discovery, leaving researchers to reflect on the broader implications of its existence.
The Growing Risk of Interspecies Hybridization
Scientists are concerned that the dogxim’s birth is not a one-off anomaly but part of a wider trend of increasing hybridization between wild canids and domestic dogs. As human activity expands into once-pristine environments, wildlife species like the pampas fox are increasingly coming into contact with domestic dogs. The consequences of these interactions could be far-reaching, particularly in terms of genetic changes and disease transmission.
Canid with unusual phenotypic characters investigated herein (A) and pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus) (B). Credits: Thales Renato Ochotorena de Freitas / Bruna Elenara Szynwelski
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Jacqueline Boyd, an expert in animal sciences at the University of Nottingham Trent, pointed out that the presence of the dogxim likely reflects the growing overlap between human settlements and natural habitats. She warned that such hybridization raises concerns about disease transmission, as domestic dogs can carry diseases that could be passed on to wild species, putting their populations at risk. Furthermore, the genetic introgression—where traits from one species infiltrate the gene pool of another—could threaten the survival of the pampas fox and other wild canids in the region.
The Impact of Hybridization on Wildlife
The discovery of the dogxim has sparked urgent discussions about the potential impact of hybridization on wild canid populations in South America. If hybrid animals like the dogxim can reproduce, this could alter the genetic makeup and behavior of native species like the pampas fox, potentially threatening their survival. Experts worry that such hybrids could undermine the integrity of wild populations by introducing domesticated traits, reducing genetic diversity, and disrupting natural behaviors.
Researchers are now calling for further studies to explore the long-term effects of hybridization on both the genetics and behavior of wild canids. While the dogxim’s case may be rare, it signals a growing ecological concern in a world where human encroachment is reshaping natural habitats. As wildlife faces increasing pressures from urbanization and infrastructure development, the full impact of hybridization on biodiversity remains to be seen.
“I for one am panicking.”
I know. OH MY GOD, ANOTHER MAN MADE CRISIS!!! QUICK, PANIC!
It’s a cross between DOGE and Big Spender?
I wonder if this critter looks the same late at night in a dim bar as in the light of day?
Researchers are now calling for further studies to explore ...how they can gather grant money. When was the last study not include this line?
I want to see a unicorn mate with an ass.
I find it interesting though.
Who knows what other types of hybrids are out there...
I met several that turned out to be cougars.
“Horny as a dog,” meets “crazy as a fox.” We know the results.
Show me the chupacubra.
just as likely a male fox successfully mated with a domestic (pet) female dog.
Thanks!
Where did I mention the sex of the dog and the fox?
It’s worse than that. The notion that uninhabited places are “pristine” until man shows up is based on a deep belief that human beings are dirty and evil, and at bottom have no right to exist. The entire environmental viewpoint is thus anti-man and evil to the core.
The modern encvironmental movement after all began with Nazi theorists, building on the German Romanticist tradition of “blood and soil”, the old tribal/pagan nonsense that nature is somehow sacred.
Not all mules are sterile-it is rare, but some female mules have reproduced foals after breeding with a horse or donkey-and in a few cases even with a male mule that happened to be fertile. There was an episode of animal planet a few years ago about a mule in Colorado that had a healthy foal when she bred with a horse-the foal looked more horsey than mom and both were tourist attractions...
Apparently, no hybrid animal is guaranteed to be 100% infertile...
I was about to mention the Coydogs that are not uncommon in the Southwestern states...
Uh, no. It wildly predates that. It's nascence began with Francis Bacon's adoption of the writings of Titus Lucretius Carus. It's second iteration was Malthus. It then transmuted through eugenics among the Bloomsbury Group. Its modern adaptation in the US interpreting industry as destructive to human survival was promulgated at Harvard by Thomas Nixon Carver at the turn of the century. That thesis was synthesized with psychology by the most influential individual of the 20th Century, of whom I am sure you have never heard (writing a book about him now). His was literally a program for "control of human behavior" for the purposes of redirecting the human reproductive drive into non-reproductive activities (prenuptial license, the pill, abortion, gay sex, etc.) to be conditioned into children in public schools.
The worst part of his program is that the consequences of his program will be mass extinctions. My 35-year project on our land constitutes physical proof that he was wrong about environmental protection. It turns out that it will require a massive input of hands-on labor simply to keep the genetic foundations of the agricultural soil system (plant/microbial symbioses) alive and reproducing, even on a sample space basis.
It is my goal in life to initiate a business system with which to manage such a project. I wrote the first business method patent of its kind to that end and quitclaimed it back to the American people to preclude a corporate monopoly.
The peppered moth in England provides a classic example of natural selection. During the Industrial Revolution, pollution darkened tree trunks, making dark-colored moths less visible to predators and giving them a survival advantage. This led to a shift in the moth population, with the dark (melanic) form becoming more prevalent. When pollution decreased, the lighter-colored moths regained their advantage due to improved camouflage.
How a moth went to the dark side
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
Initial State:
Before the Industrial Revolution, most peppered moths were light-colored, blending in with the lichen-covered tree bark.
Industrial Revolution:
The soot and pollution from factories during the Industrial Revolution killed the lichen and darkened tree trunks and walls.
Darker Moths Thrive:
Darker moths (melanic form) became better camouflaged against the soot-covered surfaces and were less likely to be eaten by birds.
Natural Selection at Work:
Birds ate the lighter moths more readily, as they stood out against the dark background.
Shift in Population:
Over time, the dark-colored moths became more common in industrial areas, while the light-colored moths remained more common in rural areas with cleaner environments.
Return to Light Moths:
With the introduction of pollution control measures, the environment began to clean up. Now, the light-colored moths were better camouflaged again, and their population increased in urban areas.
So 6.7 million years ago the fox and the dog diverged from a common ancestor. And now they are perhaps merging again - and that’s somehow a bad thing.
I hear Disney is coming out with a remake of “The Fox and the Hound.”
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It’s rated XXX.
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