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Conservation programs

Darwin's fox

Lycalopex fulvipes

We invite you to learn more about our Darwin Fox conservation program

Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes), also known locally as the Chilote fox, is categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered. This species is one of the most threatened in the world and is the only dog endemic to Chile. With an average weight of around 3 kg, it is also one of the smallest canids in the world. Its distribution ranges from the Nahuelbuta mountain range to the island of Chiloé.

The main factors that threaten their survival include:

  • Destruction of their habitat.
  • Dog attacks.
  • Infectious diseases.

Precisely on these threats, Fundación Buin Zooshe has focused her efforts in conservation, education and research for the past twelve years.

In 2012, Darwin’s fox was selected as the founder species of the Conservation Area Buin Zoo, mainly due to:

  • Its endemism.
  • The scarcity of programs to monitor their populations.
  • The lack of scientific publications that would allow protection actions to be generated.
  • Its categorization as “critically endangered” by the IUCN at the time.

Since then, alliances have been established with public and private institutions, including several national and foreign universities. In addition, he has collaborated with the Guiña Conservation project, led at that time by the University of Chile, which shares similar objectives and methodologies.

Thanks to these alliances, important results have been achieved in the conservation of Darwin**’s fox**:

Publications/Dissemination

The data obtained have resulted in the publication of 20 scientific articles in journals of high international prestige. One of these publications identified canine distemper as a potentially devastating disease that could make the species extinct in the future.

<details> <summary>View all scientific publications</summary>

WoS scientific publications

  1. CABELLO, J.; ESPERÓN, F.; NAPOLITANO, C.; HIDALGO, E.; DÁVILA, J.; MILLAN, J. 2013. Molecular identification of a novel gammaherpesvirus in the endangered Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes). J Gen Virol. Dec; 94 (Pt 12) :2745-9

  2. CABELLO J., ALTET L., NAPOLITANO C., SASTRE N., HIDALGO E., DAVILA JA., MILLAN J. 2013. Survey of infectious agents in the endangered Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes): High prevalence and diversity of hemotrophic mycoplasmas. See Microbiol. Dec 27; 167 (3-4) :448-54

  3. Hidalgo-Hermoso E., Mathieu-Benson C., Celis-Diez S., Soto-Guerrero P., Carmona-Schmidt S., Cabello-Stom J. and Ortiz-Tacchi C. 2019. “Safety and serological response to multivalent canine distemper virus vaccine in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)”. J Zoo Wild Med. Jun 13; 50 (2) :337-341. doi:10.1638/2018-0135.

  4. Sacristán I, Sieg M, Acuña F, Aguilar E, Garcia S, López MJ, Cevidanes A, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Cabello J, Vahlenkamp TW, Millán J, Poulin E, Napolitano C. 2019. “Molecular and serological survey of feline pathogens in free-roaming domestic cats of rural communities in southern Chile” Accepted in Journal of Veterinary Sciences. J Vet Med Sci. Dec 18; 81 (12) :1740-1748. doi:10.1292/jvms.19-0208. Epub 2019 Oct 15.

  5. Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Cabello J, Vega C, Kroeger-Gómez H, Moreira-Arce D, Napolitano C, Navarro C, Sacristan I, Cevidanes A, Di Cataldo S, Dubovi EJ, Mathieu-Benson C, Millán J. 2020. An eight-year survey for canine distemper virus indicates lack of exposure in the endangered Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes). J Wild Dis. Apr.; 56 (2) :482-485. doi: 10.7589/2019-08-195.

  6. Sacristán I, Acuña F, Aguilar E, García S, López MJ, Cevidanes A, Cabello J, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Johnson WE, Poulin E, Millán J, Napolitano C. 2019 “Assessing Cross-Species Transmission of Hemoplasmas at the Wild-Domestic Felid Interface in Chile Using Genetic and Landscape Variables Analysis” Sci Rep. Nov 14; 9 (1) :16816. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53184-4

  7. Moreira-Arce D, Silva-Rodriguez EA, Napolitano C, D’Elía G, Cabello J, Millán J, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Farias AA. “A carnivorous forest-specialist in the middle of the desert? Comments on Anabalon et al. 2019. Ecol Evol. 2020 Mar 25; 10 (8) :3825-3830. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6132. eCollection 2020 Apr.

  8. Sacristán I, Esperón F, Acuña F, Aguilar E, Garcia S, López MJ, Cevidanes A, Neves E, Cabello J, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Poulin E, Millán J, Napolitano C. 2019. “Antibiotic resistance genes as landscape anthropization indicators in the wild felid guigna (Leopardus guigna) in Chile” Sci Total Environ. Feb 10; 703:134900. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134900. Epub 2019 Nov 1.

  9. Di Cataldo S, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Sacristán I, Cevidanes A, Napolitano C, Hernández CV, Esperón F, Moreira-Arce D, Cabello J, Müller A, Millán J. Hemoplasmas are asymptomatically endemic in the endangered Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes). Apple Environ Microbiol. 2020 Apr 10:AEM.00779-20. doi:10.1128/AEM.00779-20.

  10. Moreira-Arce D, Javier Cabello; Luis Meneses; Katherine Norambuena; Christian Pérez-Hernández; Ezequiel Hidalgo-Hermoso; Pablo Vergara. Scale-dependent habitat preferences from an individual-based perspective: the case of the endangered Darwin’s fox living in heterogeneous forest landscapes. Landscape Ecology. Doi. 10.1007/s10980-020-01171-w

  11. Sieg, M.; Sacristán, I.; Busch, J.; Terio, K.A.; Cabello, J.; Hidalgo-Hermoso, E.; Millán, J.; Böttcher, D.; Heenemann, K.; Vahlenkamp, T.W.; Napolitano, C. Identification of Novel Feline Paramyxoviruses in Guignas (Leopardus guigna) from Chile. Viruses 2020, 12, 1397.

  12. Sacristan, Irene; Acuña, Francisca; Aguilar, Emilio; Garcia, Sebastian; Lopez, Maria Jose; Cabello, Javier; Hidalgo-Hermoso, Ezequiel; Sanderson, Jim; Terio, Karen; Barrs, Vanessa; Beatty, Julia; Johnson, Warren; Millan, Javier; Poulin, Elie; Napolitano, Constanza. Cross-species transmission of retroviruses among domestic and wild felids in human-occupied landscapes in Chile. Evolutionary Applications. doi.org/10.1111/eva.13181

  13. Sacristán, I.; Esperon, F.; Pérez, R.; Acuña, F.; Aguilar, E.; Garcia, S.; López, M.J.; Neves, E.; Cabello, J.; Hidalgo-Hermoso, E.; et al. Epidemiology, molecular characterization and risk factors of Carnivore protoparvovirus-1 infection and disease in the wild felid Leopardus guigna in Chile. Transboundary and emerging diseases. doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13937

  14. Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Cabello J, Verasay J, Moreira-Arce D, Hidalgo M, Abalos P, Borie C, Galarce N, Napolitano C, Sacristán I, Cevidanes A, Ramírez-Toloza G, Farias A, Di Cataldo S, Lagos R, Millán J. SEROSURVEY FOR SELECTED PARASITIC AND BACTERIAL PATHOGENS IN DARWIN’S FOX (LYCALOPEX FULVIPES): NOT ONLY DOG DISEASES ARE A THREAT. J Wild Dis. 2022 Jan 1; 58 (1) :76-85. doi:10.7589/JWD-D-21-00024. PMID: 34714909.

  15. Di Cataldo S, Cevidanes A, Ulloa-Contreras C, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Gargano V, Cabello J, Sacristán I, Napolitano C, Gambino D, Vicari D, Millán J. A serosurvey for spotted fever group Rickettsia and Coxiella burnetii antibodies in rural dogs and foxes, Chile. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2022 Apr.; 83:101769. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2022.101769. Epub 2022 Feb 13. PMID: 35228159.

  16. Sophia DC, Aitor C, Claudia UC, Javier C, Delia G, Valeria G, Valeria G, Ezequiel Hidalgo Hermoso, Maria Stefania L, Constanza N, Irene S, Nicole SP, Juliana V, Gerardo AJ, Domenico V, Domenico O, Javier M. Large-scale survey for canine vector-borne parasites in free-ranging dogs and foxes from six different bioclimatic regions of Chile. See Parasitol Reg Study Reports. 2022 May; 30:100721. doi:10.1016/j.vprsr.2022.100721. Epub 2022 Mar 24. PMID: 35431077.

  17. Di Cataldo S, Cevidanes A, Ulloa-Contreras C, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Gargano V, Sacristán I, Sallaberry-Pincheira N, Peñaloza-Madrid D, González-Acuña D, Napolitano C, Vianna J, Acosta-Jamett G, Vicari D, Millán J. Mapping the distribution and risk factors of Anaplasmataceae in wild and domestic canines in Chile and their association with Rhipicephalus sanguineus species complex lineages. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2021 Sep; 12 (5) :101752. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101752. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34134063.

  18. Di Cataldo S, Cevidanes A, Ulloa-Contreras C, Sacristán I, Peñaloza-Madrid D, Vianna J, González-Acuña D, Sallaberry-Pincheira N, Cabello J, Napolitano C, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Acosta-Jamett G, Millán J. Widespread Infection with Hemotropic Mycoplasmas in Free-Ranging Dogs and Wild Foxes Across Six Bioclimatic Regions of Chile. Microorganisms. 2021 Apr 24; 9 (5) :919. doi:10.3390/microorganisms9050919. PMID: 33923361; PMCID: PMC8145368.

  19. Canales-Cerro C, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Cabello J, Sacristán I, Cevidanes A, Di Cataldo S, Napolitano C, Moreira-Arce D, Klarian S, Millán J. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic similarity between the endangered Darwin’s fox (Lycalopex fulvipes) and sympatric free-ranging dogs in Chiloé Island, Chile. Isotopes Environ Health Stud. 2022 Aug-Dec; 58 (4-6) :316-326. doi:10.1080/10256016.2022.2106225. Epub 2022 Aug 13. PMID: 35968628.

  20. Napolitano C, Sacristán I, Acuña F, Aguilar E, Garcia S, López-Jara MJ, Cabello J, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Poulin E, Grueber CE. Assessing micro-macroparasite selective pressures and anthropogenic disturbance as drivers of immune gene diversity in a Neotropics wild cat. Sci Total Environ. 2023 Nov 1; 897:166289. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166289. Epub 2023 Aug 15. PMID: 37591403.

Relevant non-WoS publications

Silva-Rodriguez, E, Farias, A., Moreira-Arce, D., Cabello, J., Hidalgo-Hermoso, E., Lucherini, M. & Jimenez, J. 2016. Lycalopex fulvipes. (errata version published in 2016) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: E.t41586a107263066.

Dissemination publications

Appearance of our images and description of our conservation actions of Darwin’s fox conservation program in episode 3 “Defending Wild Dogs” of the BBC documentary series on canid conservation “Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family”.

Link to a note about our Darwin Fox Conservation Certificate program

BBC One — Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family — Defending Darwin’s fox in Chile

Mention of our conservation actions: Vaccinating dogs to protect Darwin’s fox in the report “We Vaccinate Animals More Than Ourselves” by the North American digital media outlet The Atlantic

We Made Wild Animals Sick. Should We Vaccinate Them Too? — The Atlantic

Mention of our conservation actions investigating the role of the distemper in the decline of Darwin’s fox populations for the report “Protecting canids from planet-wide threats offers ecological opportunities” by the international digital media outlet Mongabay.

Protecting canids from planet-wide threats offers ecological opportunities — Mongabay

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Current and past researchers who have collaborated with Darwin’s Fox Conservation Program and other Chilean carnivores (2012-2024)

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  • Javier Cabello MV Ms PhD. Chiloé Silvestre Nature Conservation Center.
  • Darío Moreira Biologist Ms PhD. University of Santiago de Chile.
  • Javier Millan. MV PhD. University of Zaragoza-Spain
  • Constanza Napolitano. MV Ms. PhD. University of Los Lagos.
  • Javier Simonetti. Biologist PhD. University of Chile.
  • Cortes Galaxy. MV. Ms. PhD. Pontifical Catholic University.
  • Juliana Vianna. Biologist PhD. Pontifical Catholic University.
  • Gonzalo Barriga. Biochemist. PhD. University of Chile.
  • Danny Fuentes. MV PhD. University of Concepción.
  • Lucia Azócar. MV PhD. San Sebastian University.
  • Sebastián Muñoz Leal MV PhD. University of Concepción.
  • Victor Neira. MV PhD. University of Chile.
  • Galia Ramirez. MV PhD. University of Chile.
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