Dingo

(Canis dingo)

Diet: The dingo eats kangaroos, sheep, catte, and lizards. Dingo's chase their prey and wear them out, then they eat them. The dingo looks like a wolf, but it is not it is related to it. When the dingo chases a kangaroo the kangaroo has the ability to kick the Dingo causing its stomach to rip open and it will die. The dingo has the same bone structure as the wolf. The older dingos hunt for food while the others teach the young. The dingo can also sniff out its food.

Location: The dingo is found throughout Australia. Fossil and archeological evidence dates dingos arriving in Australia about 3500 years ago. It is hypothesized that they were brought over with Asian seafarers as the dingo is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia.

Description: Adult males are generally larger than females. Dingos are auburn in color with white stockings. Purebred individuals may be black and tan, or black and white. Dingos live up to ten years in the wild and up to thirteen years in captivity.

Reproduction: Seasonal conditions influence when dingos mate. They produce one litter of pups per year. The average gestation period is 63 days. Litter sizes range from 1 to 10 individuals with the average being 5 young per litter. Males and females pair at three years of age and often mate for life. A single, dominant pair breeds in a dingo group and dominant females will kill the young of other females in the pack. Other pack members are cooperative breeders and help raise the young of the dominant pair.

Introduced Pests To keep dingos out of Southeastern Australia, sheep industry territory, millions of dollars have been spent to build and maintain a 3,307-ft. fence, although sheep and cattle are estimated to compose only 4% of their diet. Dingos are protected by the Australian government in national parks and reserves. Dingos are considered pests and subject to control measures in several public places. Pure populations of dingo in Australia are at risk of absolute hybridization due to interbreeding with domestic dogs. They are unsafe as pets because of instinctive aggressive behavior. To protect, educate and breed purebred dingo lines, Australian preservation societies have created.

Facts

• When Dingos kill more than they can eat, the remains are buried to be dug up and eaten later.
• Although some have been tamed, the dingo has never been domesticated; it remains suspicious of humans.