{"id":710736,"date":"2026-06-18T03:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T03:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/710736\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T03:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T03:59:10","slug":"amazonian-ghost-dogs-be-more-common","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/710736\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazonian &#8216;ghost dogs&#8217; be more common"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An extremely rare species of Amazonian wild canine nicknamed the \u201cghost dog\u201d may have a higher population than initially thought, new data suggests. <\/p>\n<p>Short-eared dog \u2014 the formal name for the species \u2014 were mapped using camera-trap sightings across lowland regions in Bolivia and Peru over the course of 25 years, according to a study published in May in \u201cNeotropical Biology and Conservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most surprising aspect of the results was that despite being an almost mythical beast, short-eared dogs are much more abundant than we had imagined,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1127831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the researchers<\/a> said. <\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"39712845\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ghost-dog-1.jpg\" alt=\"Bush dog walking by a camera trap in the forest.\" class=\"wp-image-39712845\"  \/>Ghost dog walking by a camera trap in the forest. G. Ayala &amp; M.E Viscarra<\/p>\n<p>Scientists emphasized that despite the species\u2019 relative abundance, they are not considered common. Ghost dogs remain one of the least-studied canids in the animal kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe short-eared dog, or ghost dog, is perhaps the least known medium- to large-sized Neotropical mammal and potentially one of the scarcest canids,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Robert Wallace, the lead researcher.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2001 and 2024, the dogs were caught in 594 photographs, complete with their large heads, small ears, short legs, webbed toes, puffy tail and red-to-black densely packed coat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Data shows that ghost dogs typically have a density of 15 dogs per 38.61 miles \u2014 they prefer habitats with thick foliage, which makes them hard to see.<\/p>\n<p>Ghost dogs are notoriously shy and have acute sight and hearing capabilities, which creates a significant barrier for scientists attempting to study the animal in its natural habitat.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"39712849\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ghost-dog-3.jpg\" alt=\"A large dog-like animal with glowing eyes in a forest.\" class=\"wp-image-39712849\"  \/>A ghost dog with glowing eyes in a forest. Wallace et al., 2026<\/p>\n<p>In protected, conservationist areas, the dogs were spotted the most frequently, suggesting these areas are vital for their preservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important management strategy is the protection of Amazonian forest canopy for which the creation and effective management of protected areas is the most important element, in combination with the sustainable management of Indigenous territories,\u201d the researchers said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An extremely rare species of Amazonian wild canine nicknamed the \u201cghost dog\u201d may have a higher population than&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":710737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[960,1147,7474,79,201,965],"class_list":["post-710736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-amazon","tag-animals","tag-dog","tag-science","tag-wildlife","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}