Truck Driver Comes To Aid Of Dehydrated Maned Wolf That Collapsed Below His Vehicle

Nov 06, 2020

If you've ever had an encounter with a wild animal, you know it can be equal parts awe-inspiring and terrifying. After all, we are taught that animals that are not domesticated are afraid of us and will avoid us at all costs. While that is true, there are times when our paths cross the same, nonetheless. For most people, they will see a small rodent scurrying by, or a deer taking a quick sprint across the road. Some of us have more exotic encounters, however.

For one truck driver in Brazil, his encounter with a wild animal was going to be surreal and give him a good story. Below is the tale of when Milton Rodrigues met a maned wolf in a video that was uploaded in 2017.

We all get an image in our minds when we hear the word "wolf." In fact, wolves are the perfect example of an animal that produces both fascination and dread in us. Many people find themselves quite intrigued by wolves, probably because they are close relatives of dogs, but those same folks would probably be terrified if they ran into one in the forest.

We know wolves to be pack hunters; stealthy, cunning animals that cleverly go after their prey. Most people would be scared to run into one wolf because they would know the rest of the pack couldn't be far behind. Despite everything we know about the kind of wolves we see in this country, the maned wolf is quite a different thing.

These canids are the only ones of their kind. They are not closely related to wolves, dogs, foxes, or coyotes. Every other species in their genus (Chrysocyon) is extinct. They are survivors in the truest sense of the word. When you watch the video of Milton Rodrigues' encounter with one of these creatures, you'll see that they don't look like any other canine you know.

A maned wolf looks like a mad scientist fused together a mutant made of a deer, wolf, and fox. These animals are native to parts of Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, according to Endangered Wolf Center. They have long legs, like a deer, that are probably the result of evolution to the tall grass of its natural home.

Unlike other canids, the maned wolf is an omnivore, according to Endangered Wolf Center. Over half of its food is made up of some type of vegetable matter. Those who came upon this animal eating in the wild might find it feasting on things like wolf apples, tubers, and sugarcane.

Milton Rodrigues seems like a regular guy. He's a truck driver, as the video shows, that spends a lot of time on the road and probably has come across a lot of strange things in his time. Despite this fact, Rodrigues was about to get another surprise when something darted in front of his truck. The man stopped his vehicle, not wanting to collide with the creature.

When he got out of the truck, he realized that he was in the presence of a maned wolf. His first instinct was to snap a photo. After all, it's not every day he ran into an animal like this one. Suddenly, he noticed that the animal was walking toward him. He probably experienced some sense of terror as that certainly isn't usual behavior for a maned wolf. Rodrigues watched as the animal slowly moved toward his truck and collapsed underneath it.

Obviously, this encounter had just gotten stranger. Why would the maned wolf be hiding under his truck? When Rodrigues looked at the wolf, it was very clear that it was dehydrated and badly impacted by the brutal heat of the sun. In the video, you can see that Rodrigues has his shirt off because of the oppressive temperatures. The thermometer read 104-degrees that day. No wonder this creature was warm.

Rodrigues had a decision to make. What was he going to do about the animal underneath his truck? Obviously, it would seem cruel to leave it there or ignore it. Upon looking at the maned wolf, it was clear that it needed hydration in the worst way. The hot sun had sapped its energy and it was trying to take respite in the shade offered by the vehicle.

The Brazilian truck driver made the decision to help the animal. When watching the video, one can see that he took a blue helmet and filled with water. He knelt down by the animal and put one hand gently under its head to lift it. At that point, the man slowly started pouring water out of the helmet and onto the mouth of the maned wolf.

Water clearly was what this animal needed. It started lapping it up. Rodrigues had to go back for seconds. The wolf drank down that fluid too as the truck driver patiently sat there with his hand still under its head. At one point, he even started petting the animal a little bit. Eventually, the maned wolf was okay to stand and ran off into the wild.

This video is amazing because you can almost imagine what it would be like in Rodrigues's shoes. He must have been afraid, but he chose to try and provide the creature with what it needed to survive.

How did watching Rodrigues tend to the maned wolf impact you? Would you have been able to get out of your truck? Show this video to all the animal enthusiasts you know and tell us all your thoughts about this cool story.