Diet of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Mammalia : Canidae), duringwet and dry seasons at Ibitipoca State Park, Brazil

Analysis of 141 seats of maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus collected in a re gion of upland forest and meadows of south-eastern Brazil yielded 351 food items in the wet season (60 seats) and 407 in the dry season (81 seats). Sc arabaeidae and rodents were the most frequent animal food in both seasons, complemented by birds in the wet season and unidentified mammals in the dry season. Seeds revealed Solanum lycocarpum to be the most frequent plant fo od in the dry season and an Annonaceae and a Cactaceae the most frequent in the wet season. A total of 33 seed morphospecies were retrieved. Although our results reveal some shared and some divergent trends from dietary studi es undertaken in savanna ('cerrado') areas, we found a very high frequency of potentially harmful tourists' garbage. This highlights the necessity for better environmental education and confirms that the maned wolf is a gener alist and opportunist omnivore.