The culpeo's diet consists largely of rodents, rabbits, birds and lizards, and to a lesser extent, plant material and carrion.

The culpeo was domesticated by the Selk'nam people of Tierra del Fuego, producing the Fuegian dog which became extinct in the late 19th or early 20th century.

[9] It is most common on the western slopes of the Andes, where it inhabits open country and deciduous forests.

They are found in broadleaf Nothofagus temperate rainforest, sclerophyllous matorral, deserts, chaparrals, and plateaus, like the Altiplano, up to the tree line (4,800 metres (15,700 ft)).

[8] In the southeastern Argentine Patagonia region, culpeos generally tend to consume more of the introduced European hare than the South American gray fox does year-round, while the gray fox tends to consume more rodents.

[13] Its range also overlaps that of the much larger puma, but the size difference ensures that the two species have limited competition.

[14] During a period of drought in central Chile's scrublands lagomorphs, coati, goats, and cattle make up a large amount of their diet.

The taxonomy of the culpeo has been the topic of debate due to their high phenetic variability and the scarcity of research, among other things.