Llaras Samitier wrote an article back in March 1965 (La Argentina Austral, No. 401 Leyendas del Río Santa Cruz, Tadición de un Zorro. p.8) in which, among others, he tells the following story about the now extinct Warrah. The author mentions Pavón Island, which was set in the middle of the Santa Cruz River (see it in Google maps), it was here that Argentine naval officer Luis Piedrabuena had set up his fortified enclave and traded with sealers and Tehuelche natives. From here George Musters set out in 1869 towards Carmen de Patagones on an expedition that covered more than 2,300 km (1,430 mi).
Below we quote Llaras Samitier's text
"A FOX'S LEGEND.
There on Pavón Island, there also lived a warrah, the Falkland Islands fox (Dusicyon australis or Canis antarcticus), which, according to the inhabitants of the trading post, disappeared at the end of the summer of 1875. It is generally accepted that the last one in the Falklands was hunted in 1876, since from that date onward, there was no further news of the existence of this animal. But at the end of 1874, a sealing vessel that docked in Port Louis established a camp on land so the crew could rest and also to caulk the boats, badly damaged during a brief Antarctic campaign. During their stay, a fox cub approached the tents and became familiar with the crew members working on land, from whom it meekly accepted food and a few kicks. One Sunday, when the first officer, after preparing and greasing his boots, he placed them at the entrance of the tent. The little animal, unable to think of anything better to do, started gnawing on those greedily greased or oiled leathers, as if they were meant for him. Furious, the first officer fired several revolver shots at him, missing his target, but the fox wasn't frightened; he just stood there gazing mockingly at him from a short distance. Amid laughter and comments after such a summary trial, it was decided to spare his life and take him on board as a pet the next day, if he was still around. Indeed, the next day the American-registered schooner set sail, taking the puppy on board. On their return, they stopped at Santa Cruz to replenish their salt supplies, and everyone was fed up with the pet, as it punctuated its endless days of leisure on board by gnawing on anything made of leather, especially the crew's footwear. When some of the laborers at the island's trading post inquired about this unusual "specimen of a dog," it was immediately offered as a gift, an offer that was accepted, particularly by Juan Razo, who considered himself the dog's owner. Although at first it didn't get along well with the pack of dogs living on the island, little by little they grew accustomed to tolerating it. The truth is that one cool April night, while his owner was fishing on the riverbank, the fox that accompanied him began to howl. He howled plaintively, sitting on the shore, until, driven by some strange force known only to God, he resolutely plunged into the water. It is assumed that the river became his grave, for he was never seen again. Perhaps he heard the call of a riverside fox and managed to cross the river, disappearing into the Patagonian pampas. The fact is the name of one of the last specimens of that breed of canid, which became extinct in 1876, is linked to the great [Santa Cruz] River, contributing to its first legend.
This same story was reported in Chebez, J. C., Bertonatti, C. (1994). Los que se van: especies argentinas en peligro. Argentina: Editorial Albatros, p. 50.
Did the Warrah survive extinction?
Liborio Justo, (1902-2003) was an Argentine author known also by his pseudonym Lobodón Garra (name that combines the words wolf, mylodon, and claw – in Spanish, lobo, milodón, and garra). Between 1926 and the early 1930s, he traveled extensively to Patagonia and wrote about his experiences in his book "La Tierra Maldita" (The Cursed Land), which has a gripping and natural Jack London style.
In one of his fictional works written in the 1930s, "Las Brumas del Terror", he tells about an old man at Dumas Peninsula on the Fuegian island of Hoste, is accompanied by a "uarrah". Justo suggests that maybe some warrah had managed to survive and were taken to the mainland by seal hunters that frequented the islands. Probably a case of fiction inspired by facts.
The possibility that a warrah brought from its island home to the continent is exciting, and if it managed to breed in the wild it opens the possibility that warrah genes could still be found among Patagonian dogs or even its foxes.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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