by Shannon Lin

Created on: July 14, 2009

The Dingo is often thought of as Australia's wild dog, though they were actually brought to Australia by the Aboriginals. Australia's "Wild Dog" is really a domestic breed that lives in the wild, and is mostly independent from humans. There are two theories about how the dingoes came to Australia; some people think they were brought there by the Aboriginals, but evidence has proved that they arrived to the large island at different times. Another theory is that the dingo may have been a cousin to the semi wild dogs found in South East Asia, brought to Australia by sailors, who probably used them for trading or food.

Though the dingo has lived in Australia for thousands of years, it may not have been a very welcome animal in the very beginning. Many people suspect that the dingoes caused the extinction of the thylacine from mainland Australia. The dingo and the thylacine probably competed hugely for the same prey; dingoes, being the superior hunter, hunted in packs, and having the stronger jaw, they could catch bigger prey. Also, the dingoes may have introduced diseases that affected the thylacines much more than dingoes.

With the dingoes' strong jaws, comes a broad head. Dingoes usually have pointy muzzles, and erect ears. They can be up to 60 cm tall and up to 124cm long, with an average weight of 13 to 20 kg. Adult dingoes' fur is usually short, and bushy on the tail. Color varies vary from sandy to reddish brown, with the occasional all black dog; the tan markings can be black, brown, or white, and there are white bits on the belly, snout and the tip of the tail.

Unlike common belief, Dingoes do bark, though it is often short and only one syllable. The barks are commonly bark-howl, or bark-cough combos. Australian dingoes also have three general types of howls, their main type of communication, the regular rising and diminishing bark-howl, a short snuff, and long, persistent moans. All of these have many variations, and each of them are different, depending on the season, time of day, mood, breeding, social strengths, and migration. During times of food shortage and famine, howls are more typical than times when dingoes have no reason to howl.

Dingoes are carnivorous predators that are mostly nocturnal, especially in warmer regions. They appear to eat up to 170 species, from insects to buffaloes, though mammals are the main part of their diet. The food varies from place to place, so of course the dingoes' diet varies also. In the gulf region, pigs and wallabies are on the menu. In the northern rainforests, dingoes mostly eat wallabies, geese, and rodents. In other areas, the dogs eat lizards, rodents, rabbits, red kangaroos and even cattle carcasses. Dingoes usually hunt in pairs or by themselves, but when they need to hunt bigger prey, the dogs start to hunt in packs.

The dogs are able to breed at the age of one, and the dingoes have a lifetime mate. They breed annually in spring, with a littler up to eight pups. Both parents take time raising the pups, and they stay with the pups one to three years. From the time they are born to the time they are two months, the parent regurgitates food for the pups. At four months, the pups are ready to hunt for themselves.

For more information on dingoes, go here: http://australian-animals.net/dingo.htm

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