Foxes as pets: Case study of the Fuegian Dog and its relationship to extinct Indigenous cultures

Abstract

Yámanas (coastal) and Selknams (inland) were among the early Holocene Indigenous groups on the Switzerland-sized island of Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. Companion to both cultures was the extinct, zoologically mysterious and ‘domesticated’ Fuegian Dog. The objective here was to conduct an interdisciplinary-bibliometric analysis of widely scattered records by historical explorers, artists and scientists from the middle 1700s to early 1900s for a characterization of this canid species, its origin and relationship with Indigenous peoples. This is a rare glimpse into the historical past, especially because both the ‘dog’ and people are extinct. Historical references in the 1800s described live Fuegian Dogs as fox-like in appearance and behavior. Art renditions of the dog from early visitors to the island during James Cook's and FitzRoy-Darwin's expeditions 200 years ago illustrated fox-like canids. In fact, recent analyses of a dog-museum specimen revealed that it was genetically equivalent to the wild Culpeo Fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) of South America. Supporting this evidence are more than 160 words and phrases related to ‘dog’ in the Yámana language, suggesting this animal was long an integral part of their culture. Archaeological finds of paleo-pet foxes in Europe, North America and South America with human-like diets and/or shared burials suggest a close relationship with Indigenous cultures. Due to the absence of Domestic Dogs in the archaeological records of Tierra del Fuego and extreme southern Patagonia, as well as its tenuous relationship with Indigenous groups, its fox-like morphological characteristics, half-wild behavior, highly unusual food habits of marine shell fish, and driving of fish into trap nets, it is proposed that this canid was not a domesticated dog, but a semi-tame companion of Indigenous peoples, best described as a Fuegian Pet Fox (Lycalopex culpaeus).