Maned Wolf - Diet (Toxins & Anti-nutrients)

There have been small levels of phytic acid found in the wolf’s fruit (Solanum lycocarpum) (26). This could be considered an antinutritional factor as phytate has the ability to bind to dietary nutrients and reduce their availability to be digested (26). Considering that a large portion of the diet contains wolf’s fruit, the amount of phytic acid the maned wolf is consuming must not be efficient enough to cause problems.

Cystine could also be considered another antinutrient. This is due to the findings that maned wolves are predisposed to a condition called cystinuria, which is the build up of cystine in the renal passages (3). If they have too many proteins in their diet that contain cystine, the build up in the urinary passages could completely block the urethra. In this case, they wouldn’t be able to excrete waste and would eventually die from the build up of toxins in the body if the problem was not solved.