Maned Wolf joins Hunter Zoo 

Even if you flew all the way to its native continent of South America, you’d be lucky to catch a glimpse of the Maned Wolf – an endangered species few have even heard of.

That’s why the Hunter Valley Zoo has been so excited to show off three of the animals this week.

They have become the second zoo in Australia to house the species, whose closest living relative is the bush-dog, not a wolf.

Zoo owner Leanne Pearson said that their male, Rocka, and two females, Luana and Ninka, had been settling into their new home well.

‘‘I’m one of two main keepers looking after them and they are doing good,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s really exciting to have them because they’re an exciting species and no one knows about them.’’

The cannabis-scented urine of the Maned Wolf once led to police begin a search at a Netherlands zoo for pot smokers, but Mrs Pearson said she hadn’t noticed the odour too much yet.

‘‘They have got a smell about them,’’ she said.

‘‘They’re actually nicknamed the skunk wolf because their urine does smell quite strongly and they use it to mark their territory.

‘‘They look like foxes on stilts.’’

Maned Wolves are described as being quite a shy species and their main threat in the wild is humans - habitat destruction for plantations and ranching as well as hunting has led to their decline.

They have extra long legs due to their grassland habitat and are omnivorous, meaning they eat a diet of meat - including quail, rabbit, chunks of goat and chickens - along with fruit and vegetable matter.