[4] Lycalopex is a South American genus of canine, which is distantly related to wolves and is technically not a fox.

When Charles Darwin collected a specimen from San Pedro Island in Chiloé Archipelago in December, 1834, during the Beagle survey expedition, he observed that this "fox (of Chiloe, a rare animal) sat on the point & was so absorbed in watching [survey work], that he allowed me to walk behind him & actually kill him with my geological hammer.

"[9] In the 1839, publication of his Journal and Remarks, Darwin said "This fox, more curious or more scientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is now mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society."

Darwin's fox is generally believed to be a forest obligate species found only in southern temperate rainforests.

Although the species is protected in Nahuelbuta National Park, substantial mortality sources exist when foxes move to lower, unprotected private areas in search of milder conditions during the winter.

Fragmentation of forest adjacent to the national park and on the island is a concern for their conservation, and feral dogs may pose the greatest threat to their survival by spreading disease or directly attacking.

Persecution by people who think that the foxes attack domestic fowls, though they pose little threat, is also a potential problem.

The already endangered fox is prone to this infection because the infection's bacteria attach themselves to surface red blood cells of many mammals, and although the species is believed to be no major threat to human life it can spread to humans, dogs, cats, and other wildlife species.

The bacteria also seem to spike when located close to any major habitat inhabited by humans as well as where there is a large population of wild dogs present near the species.