17d (edited) • Breed of the Week
Dingo
Today we are going to get a little wild…or feral and talk about the Dingo. This dog is in Australia and considered as Australian as Koalas and Kangaroos with some sources suggesting they may not be indigenous to Australia. They are likely to have evolved from an East Asian dog and have relation to the New Guinea singing dog. These claims are still being studied so it is subject to change as more discoveries and scientific breakthroughs occur.
Some sources believe that Dingos were brought to Australia by Asian mariners around 4,000 years ago with some sources stating that it could have been as far back as 10,000+ years ago. Scientists collected DNA of ancient Dingo skeletons all across Australia and was compared to DNA of current Dingo populations. It was determined that Dingos today do not interbreed with domesticated dog populations and instead still share most of their DNA with their ancient ancestors.
Dingos weigh between 26-44lbs and are commonly either red brown or yellow brown in color with the occasional black or white coat. Dingos also have longer muzzles, larger ears (which are erect), larger molars and longer, slender canine teeth. It is currently unclear if Dingos have always been wild (never domesticated) or if they were at some point and are now feral (returned to the wild after being domesticated).
According to one source the Dingo is thought to have replaced the thylacine (which looks like a fox/dog/cat animal with tiger stripes on the lower back) and not only that but is responsible for their disappearance on mainland Australia. Dingos are known to hunt alone most of the time but have been noted to hunt in packs up to 12 and being able to take down a kangaroo. In southeastern Australia the Dingo population has been eliminated and so the kangaroo population has increased which just further shows how effective these wild dogs are at having kangaroo for lunch. Dingos also help with population control of the invasive red fox.
Depending on who you ask Dingos are seen as a pest, especially to ranchers, since they go after animals such as livestock. It got so bad that a “dingo fence” was placed to keep Dingos in the outback and ranchers will shoot them on sight to protect their livestock. There is also a claim about a Dingo apparently taking a human child/baby named Azaria Chamberlain (I did not read the specifics of this claim but it is mentioned in National Museum Australia source). Conservationists see Dingos as a vulnerable and important to the population control of other animals such as rabbits and other small rodents.
Sources: https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/dingo/, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-dna-unravels-the-mysteries-of-the-dingo-australias-wild-dog-180984674/,https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/arrival-of-the-dingo, https://www.britannica.com/animal/dingo-mammal, https://www.sci.news/biology/dingo-origins-13277.html
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Dingo
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