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For other uses, see Dingo (disambiguation).
Australian dingo
Dingo walking.jpg
A male dingo
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: Caninae
Tribe: Canini
Genus: Canis
Species: Canis lupus
Subspecies: C. l. dingo
Trinomial name
Canis lupus dingo

(alternate: Canis dingo)[2]
(Meyer, 1793)

2006 range

The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is a free-ranging dog found mainly in Australia, as well as Southeast Asia, where it is said to have originated. It is currently classified as a subspecies of the grey wolf, Canis lupus.



For many Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. There is fear of the subspecies becoming extinct. The dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two thousand years ago,[3] although a recent study challenges this view.[4] Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave paintings.[5]


The dingo has several names in both scientific and non-scientific literature, with "dingo" being the most commonly used. In Australia, the term "wild dog" is also widely used, but generally includes dingoes as well as dingo-hybrids and other feral dogs.[6]

Scientific name[edit]


Current taxonomy classifies the Australian dingo, together with its closest relatives outside of Australia, as Canis lupus dingo, a subspecies of grey wolf separate from the familiar common dog, Canis lupus familiaris, while still united with familiaris as an intrataxonomic clade called "domestic dog".[7] An older taxonomy, used throughout most of the 20th century, applied the epithet Canis familiaris dingo. This taxonomy assumed that domestic dogs are a distinct species from the grey wolf, with the dingo classified as a subspecies of domestic dog. However, the term Canis dingo,[8][9] which classifies the dingo as a separate species from both dogs and wolves, has gained support in 2014 in a study that established a reference description of the dingo based on pre-20th century specimens that are unlikely to have been influenced by hybridisation.[10][11] The dingo differs from the domestic dog by relatively larger palatal width, relatively longer rostrum, relatively shorter skull height and relatively wider top ridge of skull.[10] A sample of 19th century dingo skins the study examined suggests that there was considerable variability in the colour of dingoes and included various combinations of yellow, white, ginger and darker variations from tan to black.[10] Although it remained difficult to provide consistent and clear diagnostic features, the study placed morphological limits on what can be considered a dingo.[10]

Colloquial and indigenous names[edit]


The dingo has been given different names in the Indigenous Australian languages, including joogong, mirigung, noggum, boolomo, papa-inura, wantibirri, maliki, kal, dwer-da, kurpany, aringka, palangamwari, repeti and warrigal.[6] Some languages have different names for the dingoes depending on where they live; the Yarralin, for instance, call the dingoes that live with them walaku and those in the wilderness ngurakin.[5]


The skeleton of a dingo at the Royal Veterinary College


Dingo skull illustrated by Frédéric Cuvier: As is typical in domestic dogs, the dingo's relative brain size is smaller than that of all non-domesticated subspecies of wolves, being almost identical in size to that of dogs considered Canis lupus familiaris.[14]

A dingo has a relatively broad head, a pointed muzzle and erect ears. Eye colour varies from yellow over orange to brown.[15] Compared to other similarly sized familiaris dogs, dingoes have longer muzzles, larger carnassials (large teeth found in many carnivorous mammals), longer canine teeth, and flatter skulls with larger nuchal lines.[12]


The average Australian dingo is 52 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in) tall at the shoulders and measures 117 to 154 cm (46 to 61 in) from nose to tail tip. The average weight is 13 to 20 kg (29 to 44 lb); however, there are a few records of outsized dingoes weighing up to 27 to 35 kg (60 to 77 lb).[16][17] Males are typically larger and heavier than females of the same age. Dingoes from northern and northwestern Australia are larger than central and southern populations. Australian dingoes are invariably heavier than Asian ones.[6] The legs are about half the length of the body and the head put together. The hind feet make up a third of the hind legs and have no dewclaws.[6] Dingoes can have sabre-form tails (typically carried erect with a curve towards the back) or tails carried directly on the back.[15]


Typical dingo colouration


Most dingoes are at least bi-coloured, with small, white markings on the chest, muzzle, tag, legs and paws being the most common feature. Pure Dingoes are also found in white or cream (not Albinism) they are also found in Black & Tan colourations. In the case of reddish individuals, there can be small, distinctive, dark stripes on the shoulders.[6]

Origin and genetic status[edit]


It is widely held that dingoes have evolved or were bred from the Indian wolf or Arabian wolf around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, as was assumed for all domestic dogs.[19] This theory was based on the morphological similarities of dingo skulls and the skulls of these subspecies of wolves. However, genetic analyses indicated a much earlier domestication.

DNA analysis[edit]




Mitochondrial DNA sequences[edit]





Other types[edit]


Despite accordant claims,[22][23] these findings did not show that only dingo females mate with non-dingo males and not vice versa. The findings would not allow such a conclusion, since the mating of a dingo female with a non-dingo male could not be detected via analyses of mtDNA. Furthermore the researchers made sure from the start that dingo-hybrids were excluded as far as possible.[18]





According to the present state of knowledge, it is not possible to get Australian dingoes to bark more frequently by putting them in contact with other domestic dogs. However, German zoologist Alfred Brehm reported a dingo that learned the more "typical" form of barking and how to use it, while its brother did not.[26] Whether dingoes bark or bark-howl less frequently in general is not certain.[24]


Captive dingoes howling




Other forms of communication[edit]


During observations in Germany, dingoes were heard to produce a sound that observers have called Schrappen. It was only observed in an agonistic context, mostly as a defence against obtrusive cubs or for defending resources. It was described as a bite intention, during which the receiver is never touched or hurt. Only a clashing of the teeth could be heard.[24]


Unlike wolves, dingoes can react to social cues and gestures from humans.[29]



In general, dingoes are shy towards humans. However, there are reports of dingoes that were agitated by the presence of humans, such as around camps in national parks, near streets or suburbs.[16][32] According to studies in Queensland, the wild dogs (dingo hybrids) there, move freely at night through urban areas and cross streets and seem to get along quite well.[33]

Dietary habits[edit]

About 170 species (from insects to buffalo) have been identified as part of the dingo's diet. In general, livestock seems to make up only a small proportion of their diet.[6] In continent-wide examinations, 80% of the diet of wild dogs consisted of 10 species: red kangaroo, swamp wallaby, cattle, dusky rat, magpie goose, common brushtail possum, long-haired rat, agile wallaby, European rabbit and the common wombat. This narrow range of major prey indicates these wild dogs are rather specialised,[12] but in the tropical rainforests of northeastern Australia, dingoes are supposed to be opportunistic hunters of a wide range of mammals.[34] In certain areas, they tend to specialise on the most common prey, with a preference for medium- to large-sized mammals. Their consumption of domestic cats has also been proven.[35] Non-mammalian prey is irregularly eaten and makes up only 10% of the dingo's diet. Big reptiles are only rarely captured, at least in eastern Australia, although they are widespread. It is possible that especially large monitor lizards are too defensive and well-armed, or they are simply able to flee fast enough into dens or climb trees.[12]

A dingo near the Dingo Fence




Dingoes in general drink one litre of water a day in the summer and about half a litre a day in winter. During the winter in arid regions, dingoes could potentially live from the liquid in the bodies of their prey, as long as the number of prey is sufficient. Similarly, weaned cubs in Central Australia are able to draw their necessary requirements of liquid from their food. There, regurgitation of water by the females for the cubs was observed. During lactation, females have no higher need of water than usual, since they consume the urine and feces of the cubs and therefore recycle the water and keep the den clean.[12]

Hunting behaviour[edit]










Social behaviour[edit]

The dingo's social behaviour is about as flexible as that of a coyote or gray wolf, which is perhaps one of the reasons it was initially believed that the dingo was descended from the Indian wolf.[41] While young males are often solitary and nomadic in nature, breeding adults will often form a settled pack.[42] However, in areas of the dingo's habitat with a widely spaced population, breeding pairs remain together, apart from others.[42]

Where conditions are favourable among dingo packs, the pack is stable with a distinct territory and little overlap between neighbors.[43] The size of packs often appears to correspond to the size of prey that appears in the pack's territory.[43] Desert areas have smaller groups of dingoes with a more loose territorial behaviour and sharing of the water sites.[44] It has been noted that the average monthly pack size was between three and twelve members.[45]

Similar to other canids, a dingo pack largely consists of a mated pair, their current year's offspring, and occasionally a previous year's offspring.[43] There are dominance hierarchies both between and within males and females, with males usually being more dominant than females.[43] A few exceptions have been noted in captive packs, however.[43] During travel, while eating prey, or when approaching a water source for the first time, the breeding male will be seen as the leader, or alpha.[46] Subordinate dingoes will approach a more dominant dog in a slightly crouched posture, ears flat and tail down, to ensure peace in the pack.[43] Establishment of artificial packs in captive dingoes have failed.[43]


Dingo pups from the Tierpark Berlin



The mating season usually occurs in Australia between March and May (according to other sources between April and June). In Southeast Asia, mating occurs between August and September. During this time, dingoes may actively defend their territories using vocalisations, dominance behaviour, growling and barking.[12]


A male dingo with his pups






Mortality and health[edit]

Documented evidence shows that dingoes in captivity have survived for up to 24 years.[15]

The main cause of death for dingoes is being killed by humans, crocodiles and dogs, including other dingoes. Other causes of death include starvation and dehydration during times of drought or after strong bush fires, infanticide, snake bites, killing of cubs by wedge-tailed eagles, and injuries caused by cattle and buffalo.




Distribution in the past[edit]



Originally, the dingo was suspected to have been introduced to Australia in the Pleistocene by Aborigines, which led to confusion concerning the dingo's nomenclature. Today, the most common theory is that the dingo arrived in Australia about 4,000 years ago. In 1979, an eroding dingo skeleton was excavated by Brown and Gollan (ANU) on the mid-coast of southern New South Wales,[54] dated to 6,000 years of age. More recent mitochondrial DNA research estimates the arrival of dingoes to be between 4,600 and 18,300 years.[55] Evidence of dingoes appears to be absent from Tasmania, which was separated from the main Australian landmass around 12,000 years ago due to a rise in sea level, which led to the theory that dingoes have not been in Australia longer than this time. To reach Australia from Asia, there would have been at least 50 km of open sea to be crossed, even at the lowest sea level. Since there are few, if any, cases of a large land animal making such a journey by itself (the Falkland Islands wolf being a possible exception), the ancestors of modern dingoes most likely were brought to Australia on boats by Asian seafarers.[18] A dance of the Aborigines in the coastal regions of the Kimberley, during which they depict dogs running excitedly up and down a boat and finally jumping into the water, is seen as further evidence for the introduction of dingoes by seafarers.[56] These dogs possibly were used as food or eventually guard dogs. Potentially, the dingo came to Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific during the course of expansion of the Austronesian culture.

Theoretical dingo migration routes


  • The dingoes originated in East Asia and took a travel route over the Southeast Asian islands due to their close proximity to Australia, and the relatively easy accessibility over the islands of the Southeast Asian archipelago. This theory is supported by examination of the mtDNA of Australian dingoes.[18]



Present distribution[edit]

Possible distribution of the dingo (red): The red area in Papua New Guinea shows the possible distribution of the Hallstrom dog.



"Pure"[63] dingoes are regarded as widespread in Northern, North West and Central Australia; rare in Southern and Northeast Australia; and possibly extinct in the Southeastern and Southwestern areas.




In the rest of the continent, dingoes are regarded as widespread, with the exception of the arid eastern half of Western Australia. In the bordering areas of South Australia and the Northern Territory, they are regarded as naturally scarce. Wild dogs are widespread in the Northern Territory, with the exception of the Tanami and Simpson Deserts, where they are rare due to the lack of watering holes. However, local concentrations exist there near artificial water sources. According to DNA examinations from 2004, the dingoes of Fraser Island are "pure".[64] However, skull measurements from the mid-1990s had a different result.[65] A 2013 study showed that dingoes living in the Tanami Desert are among the "purest" in Australia.[66]



The dingo is suspected to have caused the extinction of the thylacine, the Tasmanian devil and the Tasmanian Native-hen from mainland Australia, since a correlation in space and time is found between the arrival of the dingo and the extinctions of these species. Recent studies have questioned this theory, suggesting that climate change and increasing human populations may have been the cause.[67] Dingoes do not seem to have had the same ecological impact that the red fox had in later times. This might be connected to the dingo's way of hunting and the size of their favoured prey, as well as to the low number of dingoes in the time before European colonisation.[68]








Ecological impact[edit]

The dingo is regarded as part of the native Australian fauna by many environmentalists and biologists, as these dogs existed on the continent before the arrival of the Europeans and a mutual adaption of the dingoes and their surrounding ecosystems had occurred. However, the contrary view has dingoes as just another introduced predator that are only native to Thailand.[72]

Much of the present place of wild dogs in the Australian ecosystem, especially in the urban areas, remains unknown. Although the ecological role of dingoes in Northern and Central Australia is well understood, the same does not apply to the role of wild dogs in the east of the continent. In contrast to some claims,[73] dingoes are assumed to have a positive impact on the environment.[citation needed]

Dingoes are regarded as apex predators and possibly perform an ecological key function. It is likely (with increasing evidence from scientific research) that they control the diversity of the ecosystem by limiting the number of prey and keeping the competition in check. Wild dogs hunt feral livestock such as goats and pigs, as well as native prey and introduced animals. The low number of feral goats in Northern Australia possibly is caused by the presence of the dingoes, but whether they control the goats' numbers or not is still disputable. Studies from 1995 in the northern wet forests of Australia found the dingoes there did not reduce the number of feral pigs, but their predation only has an impact on the pig population together with the presence of water buffalos (which hinder the pigs' access to food).[74] Mike West, former president of Birds Queensland, blames dingoes for cutting down the number of Black-breasted Buttonquails on Inskip Point on Fraser Island to one.[75] West suggests that dingoes and wild dogs should be trapped; pure dingoes would be relocated and non-pure dingoes and wild dogs would be killed.[76]


It is also possible that dingoes can live with red foxes and feral cats without reducing their numbers in areas with sufficient food resources (for example, high rabbit numbers) and hiding places. Nearly nothing is known about the relationship of wild dogs and feral cats, except both mostly live in the same areas. Although wild dogs also eat cats, it is not known whether this has an impact on the cat populations.[35] At the moment, the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre is investigating the exact effects of dingoes on the fox and cat populations to determine the benefits of keeping the dog in certain areas of Australia.[78] In many areas, wild dogs live together with the most species of quolls[citation needed], except for the eastern quoll, which is probably extinct on the mainland, so wild dogs are not regarded as a threat to them.


Cultural impact[edit]



The image of the dingo now ranges from the romantic to the demonic.[84][85] While some Australians see the dingo as a wild dog, others see them as slightly tame wolves, and cultural biases about each of these animals affect general perceptions about dingoes. The dingo is considered an icon of Australia, which should be preserved (at least in its "pure" form), and its possible "extinction" is compared to that of the thylacine.[3] Where dingoes are regarded as pests regardless of their "rehabilitation,"[85] this attitude can degenerate into full hatred. In the process, dingoes are sometimes considered detrimental to society and the environment (for example, that they are in general the cause for the extinction of native animals). Dingoes, whether "pure" or not, are then treated as a scourge that must be eradicated. In such cases, it is deemed acceptable to kill all wild dogs if it would save one human life.[73] In addition, there is the opinion among bureaucrats that wild dogs are cruel towards sheep and cattle and, therefore, every cruelty against them is justified.[86]

Traditionally, dogs have a privileged position in the Aboriginal cultures of Australia (which the dingo may have adopted from the thylacine), and the dingo is a well-known part of rock carvings and cave paintings.[5] Ceremonies (like a keen at the Cape York Peninsula in the form of howling[51]) and dreamtime stories are connected to the dingo, which were passed down through the generations. There are strong feelings that dingoes should not be killed[citation needed] and, in some areas, women breastfeed young cubs. In most cases, dingoes are treated with extraordinary indulgence[citation needed], although the reasons for this might not be kindness, since dogs are sometimes treated quite brutally. Nonetheless, there seems to be a big feeling of community, although the reasons seem to be clear.[clarification needed]

Similar to how Europeans acquired dingoes, the Aboriginal people of Australia acquired dogs from the immigrants very quickly. This process was so fast that Francis Barrallier (the first European to explore the Outback) discovered in 1802 that five dogs of European origin were there before him.[56] One theory holds that other domestic dogs will adopt the role of the "pure" dingo.[84] In fact, the majority of the myths about dingoes simply call them "dogs" (whether that role was adopted, or whether there was no difference for the storyteller, is unknown),[5] and other introduced animals, such as the water buffalo and the domestic cat, have been adopted into the indigenous Aboriginal culture in the forms of rituals, traditional paintings and dreamtime stories.[81]




Economic impact[edit]


The significance of dingoes as a pest is based primarily on the predation of sheep and, to a lesser extent, on cattle, and is not connected only to the direct loss of livestock. Sheep of every age are susceptible to dingo attacks, but in the case of cattle, only the calves are susceptible.[citation needed] Harassment of sheep can cause a less optimal use of grassland and miscarriages.






Therefore, the damage to the livestock industry does not correlate to the numbers of wild dogs in an area (except that there is no damage where no wild dogs occur[89]). Even if there are only a few wild dogs in an area, the damage to the sheep industry can be very high, since surplus killing can occur. Sometimes, extreme losses of livestock are reported (once reportedly 2,000 sheep in one night[72]) and are supposed[who?] to be increasing.

According to a report from the government of Queensland, wild dogs cost the state about $30 million annually due to livestock losses, the spread of diseases and control measures. Losses for the livestock industry alone were estimated to be as high as $18 million.[50] In Barcaldine, Queensland, up to one-fifth of all sheep are killed by dingoes annually, a situation which has been described as an "epidemic".[90] According to a survey among cattle owners in 1995, performed by the Park and Wildlife Service, owners estimated their annual losses due to wild dogs (depending on the district) to be from 1.6% to 7.1%.[91]

Despite the variety of estimates, there is little doubt that predation by dingoes can cause enormous economic damage, especially in times of drought when natural prey is sparse and the number of dingoes is still relatively high. Furthermore, wild dogs are involved in the spread of echinococcosis among cattle and sheep, as well as heartworms and parvoviruses among dogs under human care[citation needed]. An infection with echinococcosis can lead to confiscation of 90% of the intestines[clarification needed], which further leads to a value decrease of the meat and high economical damage. Furthermore, bitten livestock can only be sold for a lower price[citation needed].

Dogs are regarded as a delicacy in East Asia and Oceania, and are regularly killed for eating. In the northeast of Thailand, about 200 dingoes are killed per week to be sold on the meat market. Before the start of the 20th century, dingoes were eaten by indigenous Australians, but there are no recent reports about this practice.[6] Among the indigenous Australians, dingoes were also used as hunting aids, living hot water bottles and camp dogs. Their scalps were used as a kind of currency, their teeth were traditionally used for decorative purposes, and their fur for traditional costumes. In some parts of Australia, premiums are paid for dingo fur and scalps. The fur of dingoes generally has only a low value, and export of this fur is forbidden in states where they are protected. There is no widespread commercial catching and killing of dingoes for the purposes of obtaining their fur.


Legal status[edit]


  • South Australia: Dingoes and their hybrids are considered pests in the sheep areas south of the Dingo Fence under the Animal and Plant Control Board (Agricultural Protection and Other Purposes) Act (1986). There, they must be controlled and can only be kept in captivity by authorised zoos and wildlife parks. North of the Dingo Fence, dingoes are regarded as legitimate wildlife and, although they are not protected, they are given a certain protection in a buffer zone of 35 km north of the Dingo Fence.
  • Victoria: Wild dogs are regarded as established pests under the Catchment and Land Protection Act (1994), and landowners (except from the Commonwealth) have the legal duty to hinder the spreading of wild dogs on their lands and eradicate them as much as possible. The term "wild dogs" here includes all dingoes, feral domestic dogs, dogs who became wild and crossbreeds (except for recognised breeds such as the Australian Cattle Dog).[93] The Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animal Act (1994) requires every dog owner to have their dogs under control at all times. The dingoes are granted a certain protection in areas that are managed by the National Parks Act (1975). Since 1998, it is possible to own dingoes as pets.[56] There is the possibility that "pure" dingoes may become officially classified as a protected species, according to official statements, and would not stand in conflict with control measures against wild dogs.[94] Update: In 2008, Dingoes were officially declared a threatened species (in danger of extinction) and are now protected.

Control measures[edit]

See also: Dingo scalping


Apart from the introduction of 1080 (extensively used for 40 years and nicknamed "doggone"), the methods and strategies for decimating wild dogs have changed little over time. Caution is used at least in some control areas today, since dingoes are fully protected there. Information concerning cultural importance to indigenous people and the importance of dingoes and the impact of control measures on other species is also lacking in some areas. Historically, the attitudes and needs of indigenous people were not taken into account when dingoes were controlled. So-called dingo conservation zones are regarded as a possible solution for this problem, and these zones would mainly be based on holy dingo sites and dreamtime paths. Other factors that might be taken into account are the genetic status (degree of interbreeding) of dingoes in these areas, ownership and land usage, as well as a reduction of killing measures to areas outside of the zones. Land owners are increasingly committed to regularly record where individual dingoes and their tracks are most frequent and cause the most damage. Also, birth, damage and mortality rates of livestock should be recorded. However, most control measures and the appropriate studies are there to minimise the loss of livestock and not to protect dingoes. In areas of cattle industries, there are few or no control measures,[citation needed] and efforts are mostly limited to occasional shootings and poisonings. Government controlled use of 1080 is performed only every third year, when field observations prove the claims of high livestock losses and dingo numbers.


A part of the dingo fence


Trapping and removal is an essential part of the control measures in the highlands of southeastern New South Wales and Northern Victoria. Where steel traps and baits cannot, or are not, allowed to be used (for example, residential zones), cage traps are used.



Guardian animals[edit]

To protect livestock, livestock guardian dogs (for example, Maremmas), donkeys, alpacas and llamas are used.[95][96]



It does happen that dingoes are hunted and shot by people on horseback, or that a premium is sold for shot dingoes.

Dingo Fence[edit]


Reward system[edit]



Warning of poisonous sodium fluoroacetate baits
Dead wild dogs that have been hung on a fence

Strychnine is still used in all parts of Australia.

Baits with the poison 1080 are regarded as the fastest as safest method for dog control, since they are extremely susceptible. Even small amounts of poison per dog are sufficient (0.3 mg per kg).[50] The application of aerial baiting is regulated in the Commonwealth by the Civil Aviation Regulations (1988). The assumption that the Tiger Quoll might be damaged by the poison led to the dwindling of areas where aerial baiting could be performed. In areas where aerial baiting is no longer possible, it is necessary to put down baits.

Over the last years, cyanide-ejectors and protection collars (filled with 1080 on certain spots) have been tested.[97][98]

The eradication of dingoes due to livestock damage decreased along with the importance of the sheep industry and the usage of strychnine (which beforehand had been used for 100 years) in the 1970s. The number of doggers also decreased and the frequency of government-approved aerial baiting increased. During this period, many farmers in Western Australia switched to the cattle industry, and findings in the area of biology led to a significant change in control measures and techniques in association with reduced costs and increased efficiency. At the same time, the importance of 1080 increased, and the first anxieties arose that the number of dingoes might have decreased so much that they may become locally extinct. Observations on the ecology of dingoes led to the practice of placing baits near water holes, hiding places and prey sites.

Spaying and neutering[edit]

Owners of dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes asked to spay or neuter their pets and keep them under observation to reduce the number of stray/feral dogs and prevent interbreeding with dingoes (for instance under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (2000)).[50]

Efficiency of measures[edit]

The efficiency of control measures was questioned in the past and is often questioned today, as well as whether they stand in a good cost-benefit ratio. The premium system proved to be susceptible to deception and to be useless on a large scale, and can therefore only be used for getting rid of "problem-dogs".[12][99] Animal traps are considered inhumane and inefficient on a large scale, due to the limited efficacy of baits. Based on studies, it is assumed that only young dogs that would have died anyway can be captured.[52] Furthermore, wild dogs are capable of learning and sometimes are able to detect and avoid traps quite efficiently. In one case, a dingo bitch followed a dogger and triggered his traps one after another by carefully pushing her paw through the sand that covered the trap.[82]

Poisonous baits can be very effective when they are of good meat quality; however, they do not last long[100] and are occasionally taken by red foxes, quolls, ants and birds. Aerial baiting can nearly eliminate whole dingo populations.[52] Livestock guardian dogs can effectively minimise livestock losses, but are less effective on wide open areas with widely distributed livestock. Furthermore, they can be a danger to the livestock or be killed by control measures themselves when they are not sufficiently supervised by their owners.[98] Fences are reliable in keeping wild dogs from entering certain areas, but they are expensive to build, need permanent maintenance, and only cause the problem to be relocated.

According to studies, control measures can eliminate 66% to 84% of a wild dog population, but the population can reach its old numbers very quickly over the course of a year, depending on the season, such as by immigration of young dogs from other areas. Only a cohesive coordinated control in all areas could be efficient in the long run, if at all.[71] Control measures mostly result in smaller packs respectively in a disruption of the pack structure. The measures seem to be rather detrimental to the livestock industry because the empty territories are taken over by young dogs and the predation then increases. Nonetheless, it is regarded as unlikely that the control measures could completely eradicate the dingo in Central Australia, and the elimination of all wild dogs is not considered a realistic option.



Dingo with a tagged ear on Fraser Island







As a pet and working dog[edit]

Opinion is divided about the keeping of dingoes as pets or as working dogs. Some consider the dingo unsuitable for domestication, while others see a domesticated dingo as no different from any other domesticated dog.[106] In this vein, dingoes would have the right to be recognised as a dog breed, and domestication would be the only reliable way of ensuring the survival of the "pure" dingo.[107] Some disagree that the dingo should be labeled a dog breed, as they believe "true" dingoes can be tamed but not truly domesticated.[108]








Dingoes have also been bred for sale or use as working dogs. The use of dingoes at customs was first attempted in 1976 in Victoria. However, some people speculated that these dogs were cross-breeds of dingoes and shepherd dogs.[15]






Interbreeding with domestic dogs[edit]


European domestic dogs first arrived in Australia during the European colonisation. These dogs reverted to the wild (both unintentionally and intentionally), produced feral populations and interbred with the existing dingoes. Hybrids of dingoes and domestic dogs exist today in all wild dog populations of Australia, with their numbers having increased to such a degree that any completely "pure" populations may no longer exist.[56] The degree of interbreeding is locally so high, for instance in urban and rural areas, that there are big populations consisting purely of hybrids. Estimates from the 1990s assumed a proportion of dingo-hybrids of about 78% in the wild.[113] It is not clear how large the current population of hybrids is today.

Dingo-like domestic dogs and dingo-hybrids can be generally distinguished from "pure" dingoes by their fur colour, since there is a wider range of colours and patterns among them than among dingoes. In addition, the more dog-typical kind of barking exists among the hybrids, and differences in the breeding cycle,[114] certain skull characteristics,[115] and genetic analyses[116] can be used for differentiation. Despite all the characteristics that can be used for distinguishing between dingoes and other domestic dogs, there are two problems that should not be underestimated. First, there is no real clarity regarding at what point a dog is regarded as a "pure" dingo,[105] and, secondly, no distinguishing feature is completely reliable—it is not known which characteristics permanently remain under the conditions of natural selection.



Attacks on humans[edit]

Main article: Dingo attack


Azaria Chamberlain dingo attack[edit]

On 17 August 1980, a nine-week-old girl named Azaria Chamberlain was taken by a dingo near Uluru (Ayers Rock) and killed.[32] Her mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was suspected and wrongly convicted of murder, as the court did not believe that an animal generally shy of humans would be capable of such an act. After serving more than three years of her sentence, Lindy was released from prison when the jacket of the baby was found in a dingo den. The mother was thereafter found innocent, but the cause of death was not officially listed as a dingo attack until 12 June 2012.[120][121][122][123]

Fraser Island attacks[edit]

  • In November 2012, a six-month-old dingo by the name[who?] of Inky was killed by rangers on Fraser Island after continued aggressive and dangerous behaviour towards people. The dangerous behaviour included included "lunging" at a family, coming out of the bushland at high speed towards volleyball players, and grabbing two tourists on separate occasions with his mouth, not breaking the skin on either occasion.[128] Rangers attempted to trap the dangerous dingo for a month before they were successful. The captured animal was then euthanised.[129] One Dingo advocacy group argued that, as a juvenile, the dingo's aggressive behaviours would be considered normal for his young age.[128] Soon after, Inky's brother Byron was killed by rangers, although his documented incidents never reached the serious Code E level that his brother's had.[130]

Dingo conservation groups on Fraser Island have become frustrated with the killing of dingoes that attack humans.[citation needed] It has been proposed[who?] that problem dingoes be relocated to a wildlife sanctuary.[131] Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said that the Fraser Island government should work to better educate people about dingoes to help stop attacks.[132]



Even when habituation to humans seems to be the general cause for attacks, it is not absolutely clear, and therefore the overall threat towards people is not known for sure. Some attacks might result from the "play" of young cubs, especially with children. Attacks can also be caused by mistaken reactions of humans to aggressive and dominant behaviour of dingoes. That some dingoes might regard humans as prey is a possibility, as children or incapacitated adults could be theoretically overpowered.[37][126] Dr. Bradley Smith[who?] said that Fraser Island has a problem with humans and not with the dingoes, that dogs who were labelled "aggressive" were simply behaving naturally.[133]


Problems in classification[edit]

Borneo-dogs, which look very similar to Australian dingoes

There is no general agreement (scientific or otherwise) regarding what the dingo is, in a biological sense, since it has been called "wolf," "dingo," "dog," and "wild dog".[85] Even within the scientific community, the dingo is given several names. There is no consensus regarding whether the dingo is a feral or native animal, or what kinds of dogs should be classed as "dingoes". Thus, some people consider the New Guinea Singing Dog, the Basenji, the Carolina Dog[56] and certain other dog populations to be dingoes. Evidence indicates a discord concerning the status of these dogs, as well.

Dingoes have been variously considered to be wild dogs,[32] the progenitor of domestic dogs,[56] the ancestor of modern dog breeds, a separate species,[134] a link between wolf and domestic dog,[56] a primitive canine species[135] or primitive domestic dog,[6] a "dog-like" relative of wolves[136] or a subspecies of the domestic dog.[137] Others consider them to be native dogs of Asia,[138] a relatively unchanged form of early domestic dog,[12] part wolf and part dog,[139] or to have been selectively bred from wolves.[95] Then again, some do not consider dingoes feral any more but completely wild, since they have been living under natural selection for a very long time.[140] According to present scientific consensus and knowledge, dingoes are domestic dogs that arrived at their present distribution with humans, adapted to the respective conditions and are no more "primitive" or "primordial" than other domestic dogs.[141]

Carolina dogs; some of these dogs bear a great similarity to dingoes.

The Australian dingo has never been subject to the artificial selection that produced modern dog breeds,[84] and it may be an undomesticated descendant of an extinct Asian wolf.[142] However, compared to the European grey wolf, dingoes have an approximately 30% lower relative brain size,[143] reduced facial expressions,[144] reduced impressive behaviour,[24] curled tails that can be carried over the back, and generally a permanent fertility in males—features that all known domestic dogs share and are considered to be caused by domestication.[19][24] It might happen that one and the same source names the dingo as a subspecies of the grey wolf, but lists all other domestic dogs as separate species.[145] Likewise, the scientific name of the dingo might be Canis lupus dingo, but the dingo is regarded as a separate species, nonetheless.[146] Alfred Brehm originally considered the dingo to be a separate species but, after examining several different specimens, he came to the conclusion that they could only be domestic dogs.[26] In contrast, William Jardine considered the dingo to be an entirely separate species, while contemporary French naturalists regarded them as feral dogs.[147] Even among modern-day scientists, dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes considered two separate species, despite small genetic, morphological and behavioural differences.

The phenomenon of interbreeding between both is then attributed to the statement that all wolf-like species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.[21] However, breeding experiments in Germany could only prove an unrestricted fertility in the offspring of domestic dogs and grey wolves. Hybrids between domestic dogs and coyotes, and domestic dogs and Golden Jackals, had communication problems[clarification needed] among each other, as well to the parent species. From the third hybrid generation on, a decrease in fertility and an increase in genetic damage[clarification needed] was observed among the coyote-hybrids and jackal-hybrids.[141] Observations of this kind have never been made for hybrids of dingoes and other domestic dogs, only that dingoes and other domestic dogs can freely interbreed with each other.[148]

The choice of classification can have a direct impact on the dingo. Dingoes officially cease to exist outside of national parks and become unprotected wild dogs.[85] The term "wild dog," itself, sometimes only includes dingoes and their hybrids[149] or respectively excludes dingoes.[150] Another view is that dingoes are "only" feral outside of national parks, with this term having a more negative meaning than the term "wild".



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Further reading[edit]

  • Western Australian Wild Dog Management Strategy 2005. August 2005.

External links[edit]