Ecotraining Australia eco travel Dingoes The dingo is Australias only native dog and is believed to have evolved from domesticated asiatic dogs

| | | | | |

Dingo

Latin Name: Canis lupus dingo

The dingo is Australia’s only “native” dog and is believed to have evolved from domesticated asiatic dogs originally brought as a food source by seafaring people visiting Australia’s far north coastal regions some 3000 years ago.

Size: Adult dingoes could be described as a medium sized dog, standing anywhere from 48 to 58 cms at the shoulder and weighing between 25 and 50 kg.

Description: Fur colour typically reflects their habitat with sandy yellow- ginger colour being typical, however tan and even dark brown can be seen. Albino dingoes have also been reported but are rare.

Voice: dingoes do not bark as much as domestic dogs but tend to howl, particularly at night, generally to communicate with their pack.

Habitat: Dingoes are found all over the Australian mainland particularly in the North. They can also be found on some offshore Islands (such as Fraser Island, Queensland) , adapting to diverse habitats all over the Australian continent.

They can be seen around our camp at Swim Creek in the Northern Territory; Eucalypt and melaleuca floodplain habitats.

Around our camp, single animals are often seen but large packs have been sighted in Kakadu National Park by our head guide, Ian Hutton.

Diet: Like all Australian animals, pack or group size is restricted by the availability of prey in the area. Around camp, dingoes have been seen to feed on agile wallabies and wallaroos, magpie geese and lizards as well as scavenge of brumby and water buffalo carcasses.

Breeding: Dingoes tend to produce one litter of approximately 4 to 5 pups per year. Female dingoes become sexually mature at about 2 years with males reaching sexual maturity earlier at 1-2 years.

The major threat to the species is hybridization through cross breeding with domestic dogs.

Some scientists estimate that the pure breed dingo will become extinct within 50 years time.