Analyses of maned wolf scat across the Brazilian cerrado find that fruit and other plant material make up roughly half the diet by volume, alongside small rodents, armadillos, birds and insects. The plant component is dominated by Solanum lycocarpum, the lobeira or wolf apple, a large fruit available through much of the year.
The relationship runs both ways. Seeds pass through the gut intact and germinate, and maned wolves defecate at habitual sites, including on the mounds of leafcutter ants, which then move the seeds further. The fruit is also linked to renal health in the species: captive maned wolves fed meat-heavy diets developed cystinuria and kidney stones at high rates, and diet reform has been part of the captive management response.
The name misleads. The maned wolf is not a wolf, not a fox and not closely related to either; it is the sole living member of Chrysocyon, a survivor of South America's distinct canid radiation. Its long legs are an adaptation for seeing over tall grass rather than for running fast.