Australian Dingo

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comments (3)

Ruth Spigelman

Lion

Such a lovely sighting Amy! I was one of those that thought our dingoes were pretty much extinct in NSW, all dogs seen in the wild being just wild dogs.....but I happened to read that research on the genes of dogs killed as part of governmental 'pest control' operations showed that 1 in every 4 were pure dingo, the majority were 75% dingo and only something like 5 of the 1000 or so killed were feral domesticated dogs. Posted 2 years ago
1. Amy_90
  
  Eagle Owl
  
  Yes sadly its unknown how many dingos in the wild are pure and a lot are hybrids. And its quite impossible to tell the difference from eye. Some could be 50% some could be 1% dog its really a hard subject. There is a pack that was sighted with a very rare coat a while ago in the Snow mountains a pack that looks completely pure. It fills me with hope there are still some left out here. Posted 2 years ago

Christine Young

Lion

Today's Facebook post:

The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is famously known as Australia’s wild dog. They are Australia’s only native canid and also its largest terrestrial carnivore. These gorgeous creatures are important apex predators that help keep ecosystems in balance.

Dingoes descend from Asian canids and have been in Australia for approximately 4,000 years. They live in a wide variety of habitats across Australia’s mainland, but seem to prefer woodlands. The color of a dingo's coat varies with its habitat, but the 'standard' coat color is ginger with white feet.

As opportunistic hunters, the majority of their diet is comprised of kangaroos, wallabies, feral pigs, foxes, wombats, rabbits, birds, lizards, feral cats, fish, and occasional plants or berries. Quite a variety! They hunt at night – either alone or in cooperative packs. Dingoes are helpful in suppressing populations of feral predators (foxes and cats) and they regulate numbers of feral herbivores (rabbits), which aids in the survival of native species.

In spite of their importance to the ecosystem, there have been continued attempts to eradicate the dingo because of its threat to domestic animals. If prey is scarce, dingoes will hunt domestic animals and livestock. This makes them unpopular and has even led dingoes to be labeled as a pest by some. Thankfully, dingoes are protected in some states.

Although dingoes are numerous, they are listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. A major threat to their existence comes from their contact with domestic dogs. Dingoes can interbreed with domestic dogs, which dilutes the purebred dingo gene pool by producing hybrid animals. Add to this, hunting and poisoning by humans. Sadly, the dingoes future is not secure. {Photo taken by Amy_90 in NSW, Australia} #JungleDragon #dingo #Canislupusdingo

https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife
Posted 2 years ago

The Australian dingo

The dingo is a free-roaming dog found mainly in Australia, as well as southeast Asia, where it is said to have its origins. It is currently classified as a subspecies of the gray wolf, ''Canis lupus''.

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Similar species: Carnivorans

Species identified by Amy_90