Scientists have captured 594 photos of one of the Amazon rainforest’s most mysterious animals, shedding new light on a creature so rarely seen that researchers call it the “ghost dog.”
The short-eared dog, a small and secretive wild canine found only in South America, has puzzled scientists for decades because of how rarely it appears and how little is known about its habits.
The new study, published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation, comes from 25 years of fieldwork led by Robert B. Wallace of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York.
Wallace and his team reviewed 500 historical sightings across Bolivia and ran 34 camera-trap surveys between 2001 and 2024 in northwestern Bolivia and southeastern Peru.
The cameras recorded 594 confirmed sightings of the animal, making this the largest collection of short-eared dog records ever gathered.
Researchers found the species is mostly active during daylight hours, with most activity happening between 6 a.m. and noon. That pattern surprised some scientists, who had expected the animal to be more active at night.
Rare canine avoids rivers, prefers deep forest
The study also found that short-eared dogs strongly prefer thick, undisturbed forest far from rivers, roads, and human settlements.
Almost every sighting happened deep in the woods, rarely along open riverbanks or grasslands where other predators like jaguars are commonly spotted.
The Amazon's elusive ghost dog was caught on camera 594 times, giving scientists fresh insight into its habits and survival needs. pic.twitter.com/8tv0U2Fiku
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 17, 2026
For the first time, researchers were able to estimate how many short-eared dogs likely live in the region.
By comparing camera results with data on ocelots, a similarly sized wild cat, scientists calculated that short-eared dogs number around 15 animals per 100 square kilometers.
That makes them less common than ocelots but more common than jaguars, according to the findings.
Protected Amazon forests are key to ghost dog’s survival
Researchers also discovered that sightings were far more frequent inside national parks and Indigenous territories than on unprotected land.
In fact, the cameras never recorded a single short-eared dog outside a protected area during the entire study. Scientists say that the pattern shows just how much the species depends on large, intact stretches of forest to survive.
Wallace and his colleagues say the results suggest the short-eared dog may be more common than once believed, though it remains rare and difficult to study.
Still, the team warns that continued deforestation across the Amazon could put the species at risk if protected lands keep shrinking.
The findings give conservationists a clearer picture of where the ghost dog lives and what it needs to survive, offering new hope for protecting one of the Amazon’s least understood predators for years to come.
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