One of the 17 foxes on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Canidae
South American Gray Fox
Lycalopex griseus
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The chilla, or South American grey fox, is one of the most widespread canids in Chile and Argentina, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego. It is omnivorous and highly opportunistic: rodents, birds, insects, fruit and carrion. It adapts well to grazing landscapes, which has earned it constant persecution from sheep farmers. In the 1950s it was introduced to Tierra del Fuego to control rabbits, and there it has become a problem for the native wildlife.
Weight
2.5 kg – 5.5 kg
Size
42 cm – 68 cm
Life expectancy
10 years
