Celine and Abbey... if you forgive me a little Zoology 101...

The canine family has two main genus: canis (wolves, coyotes, dogs, dingoes, jackals) and vulpes (all kinds of foxes).

The maned wolf do not belong to any of these two genus. He’s the only representative alive of its genus (Chrysocyon).

Although I named this thread “the dog of the south american plains”, he’s not even a close relative of dogs and wolves.

The maned wolf can be thought of as a primitive canid, a primitive ancestor of both wolves and foxes. So Celine’s “definition” of maned wolves as a cross between a fox and a dingo is actually quite accurate. And Abbey’s mistake is quite comprehensible. : )

Abbey, the maned wolf is much, much taller than the tallest fox you can find. You would be surprised if you could see a maned wolf and a fox side by side. As I said, his long legs are the maned wolf's most extraordinary adaptation to his environment (tall grass savanahs of South America).

So don't you ever call him a "fox on stilts" cause you're gonna hurt his feelings : )

And when Celine calls it a “thing” he’s not alone. As I said the brazilian government itself refused to let it appear on the new currency due to its weirdness.

But when you overcome this first impression, you find a beautiful animal as Abbey said.