In 2021 a family in Lima, Peru, bought what a seller told them was a husky puppy. As the animal grew, its pointed snout, long bushy tail and habit of raiding neighbours' poultry gave it away: Run Run, as the family named him, was an Andean fox, a wild animal also known as the culpeo. After he escaped and was recaptured, wildlife authorities took him into their care, and his story became a widely shared example of how the illegal wildlife trade reaches into ordinary homes.
How a "husky puppy" turned out to be a fox
According to Reuters, the teenage son of the Sotelo family, who live in the Lima district of Comas, paid around $13 for the animal at a shop in the city centre. Young canids can look alike, and a fluffy grey-brown pup could pass for a husky to someone who had no reason to doubt the seller.
The doubts came from the neighbourhood. Residents began complaining that the "dog" was killing their chickens, ducks and guinea pigs, which many Peruvian households raise for food. Maribel Sotelo told Reuters that it had eaten three large guinea pigs belonging to neighbours, and that her family paid the owners for them.
Run Run then slipped away and roamed the district, which brought the case to the attention of Peru's National Forest and Wildlife Service, SERFOR. According to Peru's state news agency Andina, staff tracked him for six days, partly with drones, and caught him with a tranquilliser dart on the night of 8 November 2021. He was taken to Lima's Parque de las Leyendas zoo for observation, treated for anaemia, fleas and ticks, and in March 2022 flown to Granja Porcón, a licensed wildlife centre in the Cajamarca highlands, where Andina reported he shares an enclosure with a female fox also rescued from the wildlife trade.
What is an Andean fox?
The culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus) lives along the Andes, from southern Colombia and Ecuador through Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina down to Tierra del Fuego. It favours open, mountainous and dry country, from coastal scrub up to high grasslands. After the maned wolf, it is the second-largest wild canid in South America, with males averaging around 11 kilograms, noticeably more than a typical red fox.
Despite the name, the culpeo is not a true fox. True foxes belong to the genus Vulpes. The South American "foxes" form their own group, and genetic studies place them closer to the lineage that includes wolves, jackals and dogs than to Vulpes. They simply evolved a similar fox-like body shape.
Culpeos are opportunistic hunters. They eat rodents, rabbits, birds, lizards and fruit, and readily take poultry and young livestock. That makes them unpopular with farmers in parts of their range, but it also means Run Run's behaviour was entirely normal for his species. He was not a bad pet; he was never a pet at all. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, although it is hunted and persecuted locally.
Why wild animals end up for sale in Peru
SERFOR says wild animals sold illegally in Lima are often brought by traffickers from elsewhere in the country, including Amazon regions such as Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios. Its veterinarian Walter Silva put it bluntly to Reuters: "Trafficking in wildlife brings these consequences." Young animals taken this way never learn to hunt or defend themselves; SERFOR has said Run Run cannot be returned to the wild for exactly that reason.
One detail worth adding: culpeos are animals of the Andes and coast rather than the Amazon lowlands, so Run Run himself most likely came from the highlands or coastal hills. The wider point holds either way. Peru is one of the world's most biodiverse countries, and parrots, monkeys, turtles and other species are regularly seized from markets and homes. Capturing young animals usually means killing the adults, many animals die in transport, and those that survive cannot normally be returned to the wild.
Why a wild canid makes a poor pet
- Instinct does not switch off. Hunting, roaming and digging are hard-wired. A fox raised by people will still kill small animals.
- Disease risk. Wild canids can carry parasites and diseases, including rabies in some regions, that affect dogs, livestock and people.
- Welfare. They need space, a specialised diet and room to behave naturally, which a house or yard cannot provide.
- Legal trouble. In Peru, as in many countries, keeping or selling protected wildlife without a permit is an offence.
- No easy way back. An animal raised by people often lacks the skills and wariness to survive if released, so many end up in zoos or sanctuaries for life.
How to avoid buying a wild animal by mistake
The Sotelo family were, in a sense, victims too. A few checks reduce the risk of the same thing happening to anyone else:
- Buy from a known breeder or adopt from a shelter, not from unregulated markets or roadside sellers.
- Be wary of very low prices. A pedigree puppy for the price of a meal is a warning sign.
- Ask for paperwork, such as vaccination records, and get a vet check soon after taking any animal home.
- Know the signs. A long bushy tail, slim legs, a narrow muzzle and large upright ears in a "puppy" deserve a second look.
- Report suspicious sales. In Peru, SERFOR receives reports of wildlife trafficking; elsewhere, contact your national wildlife authority.
Run Run's story drew smiles around the world, but the lesson underneath is serious. Every wild animal sold as a pet usually represents a family group lost from the wild, and buyers are the last link in that chain.
Sources: Reuters, November 2021; Reuters via Gulf News; Andina, 9 November 2021; Andina, 30 March 2022; Wikipedia: Culpeo; SERFOR (official site).
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