Australian Dingo

(Canis Lupus Dingo)

By Richard Polglaze

Indian Grey Wolf (Canis Lupus Pallipes)

(removed from other wolf species approx. 400,000yrs)

Arrived approx. 35,000 yrs after Aboriginals 1st came to Australia,

arrived 5,000 – 11,000 yrs ago.

It was not bred by man’s so called aesthetic lines;

Survival of the fittest;

Weaker members eliminated from the gene pool.

The Dingo is

Lithe

Extremely athletic

Superior eyesight, hearing and scenting abilities

Australian Dingo

Dingo - Canis dingo

Fast Facts

Type: Mammal

Diet: Carnivore

Size: Head and body, 3.5 to 4 ft (1.1 to 1.2 m); Tail, 12 to 13 in (30 to 33 cm)

Weight: 22 to 33 lbs (10 to 15 kg) Fast Facts

Group name: Pack

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Dingo (Canis lupus dingo)

The Dingo is Australia's wild dog. It is found in Australia, in all states but Tasmania. They are found throughout the mainland of Australia, close to a source of water.

The Dingo is a medium sized dog, with a bushy tail, and red to yellow coat. Dingos do not bark, but they do howl.

It is not a native animal to Australia, and it is unsure how it arrived on our land, but the current theories are:

* Dingos were brought to Australia 15,000 years ago by Koori people.

* Dingos may be related to wild dogs in South East Asia, and taken to Australia for trade by sea-farers.

They are meat eaters, and try to feed mainly on this. If unavailable, dingos have been known to eat reptiles, and any food source it can find. When food is scarce, dingos group together to feed on larger animals such as kangaroos. Dingos usually stay and hunt in family groups or solitare.

Dingos mate once a year, and the female dingo (bitch) gives birth to up to eight puppies. The puppies are weened for two months.

Amazing Fact: When the puppies are two months old, the mother then regurgitates food for the pups for another two months.

After the pups are about four months old, they then begin hunting small game such as rabbits.

Canis lupus pallipes

Geographic range of the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo)

Carolina Dog or Dixie Dog

Dingo or Warrigal)

New Guinea Singing Dog

Canis Lupus Dingo

The Dog (Canis Lupus Familiaris)

SE Asia to Europe ………..

Canis lupus pallipes (supposed Canis indica)

Dingo

3 types of Dingo

Desert Dingo

Alpine Dingo

Tropical Dingo

Possibly a 4th ……Fraser Island Dingo

Various colour morphs.

Dingo Puppies - Dingoes produce one litter of puppies per year.

Dingo Fence at Igy Corner, SW of Coober Pedy

A portion of the dingo fence near Coober Pedy

It was built in Australia during the 1880s and finished in 1885.

It is one of the longest structures in the world and is the world's longest fence.

It stretches 5,614 km (3,488 mi)

The Dingo Fence or Dog Fence is a pest exclusion fence

Jimbar Qld to Eyre Peninsula2.4 metres high

Buried 30cm underground

Dingo Fence on the 29th parallel of latitude. Sturt National Park (right of fence) - looking east from

Cameron Corner after rain

Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (born 11 June 1980 in Mount Isa, Queensland) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Ayers Rock (also called Uluru) with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo.

An initial inquest, highly critical of the police investigation, supported this assertion. The findings of the inquest were broadcast live on television—a first in Australia. Subsequently, after a further investigation and second inquest, Azaria's mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was tried for murder. Lindy was convicted of murder on 29 October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain, was convicted as an accessory after the fact and given a suspended sentence.

The media focus for the trial was extraordinarily intense and sensational. The Chamberlains made several unsuccessful appeals, including the final High Court appeal.

After all legal options had been exhausted, the chance discovery of a piece of Azaria's clothing in an area full of dingo lairs led to Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison, on "compassionate grounds." She was later exonerated of all charges. While the case is officially unsolved, the report of a dingo attack is generally accepted. Recent deadly dingo attacks in other areas of Australia have strengthened the case for the dingo theory.

Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain

Nearly Extinct: The Pure Dingo

Dingo and the eco-system

Top mammalian land predator of Australia

…. A keystone species

Important role in eco system & as a controller

- keeps marsupial levels stable; and

- control feral cats and foxes

Dingoes biggest killer is man

and

Biggest threat is cross breeding

The Dingo - survival

Truly Australian and not Alien;

- name as a threatened species

- pure dingoes will become extinct in the wild

What to do;

- recognised as a national icon

- allocate large areas of land with suitable fencing

- stop baiting national parks

Let’s work together to save natures masterpiece …..

Thank you …..