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Falkland Island Fox

Falkland Island Fox
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Canidae
Genus:Dusicyon
Species:australis
Binomial name
Dusicyon australis

The Falkland Island Fox (Dusicyon australis), sometimes known as the Falkland Island Wolf, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. This canid became extinct in 1876.

The fur of the Falkland Island Fox had a tawny colour. The diet is unknown. Due to the absence of native rodents it probably consisted of birds and insects.

The Falkland Island Fox is reported to have been common and tame, when Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1833. The settlers regarded the fox as a threat to their sheep and organised poisoning and shooting on a massive scale. The absence of forests led to a speedy success of the extermination campaign.