The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is a free-roaming dog mainly found on the continent of Australia. It is a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus.

A dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes are unable to survive too far away from water, and will normally settle their homes in dens, deserted rabbit holes, and hollow logs.

Dingoes are the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and play an important role as an apex predator. They are, however, generally seen as pests by the sheep industry, along with feral domesticated dogs, as a result of their many attacks on livestock. Conversely, their predation on rabbits, kangaroos, and rats is a benefit to the cattle industry.

Dingoes are seen by many Australians as a cultural icon, with their possible "extinction" compared to that of the thylacine.^[1] Dingoes also have a prominent position in the culture of the Australian Aboriginals, being depicted on many rock carvings and cave paintings.^[2] Many stories and ceremonies are connected with the dingo, although in the majority of these stories, they are simply referred to as "dogs".^[2]

Nomenclature [edit]

The dingo has several names in both scientific and non-scientific literature, of which the word "dingo" is the most common term. Furthermore, on the Australian continent, the term "wild dog" is now used very often in both areas. In most cases, this term includes dingoes, dingo-hybrids, and all other feral dogs.^[3][4]

Scientific name [edit]

Since its first official nomenclature in 1792 (Canis antarcticus), the scientific name of the dingo has changed several times.^[5]

Current taxonomy classifies the Australian dingo, together with its closest relatives outside of Australia, as Canis lupus dingo, a subspecies of grey wolf separate from the familiar common dog, Canis lupus familiaris, while still united with familiaris as an intrataxonomic clade called "[domestic dog]".^[5] An older taxonomy, used throughout most of the 20th century, applied the epithet Canis familiaris dingo to the dingo. This taxonomy assumed that domestic dogs are a distinct species from the grey wolf, with the dingo classified as a subspecies of domestic dog. Furthermore, the terms Canis dingo,^[6][7] which classifies the dingo as a separate species from both dogs and wolves, and "Canis lupus familiaris var. dingo, which treats the dingo as a variety of the domesticated subspecies of gray wolf, are in use.^[8]

Colloquial and indigenous names [edit]

The most common name is dingo. This term originated in the early times of European colonisation in New South Wales and is most likely derived from the word tingo, used by the aboriginal people of Port Jackson for their camp dogs.^[9] Depending on the area where they live, the dingoes in Australia are occasionally called alpine dingoes, desert dingoes, northern dingoes, Cape York dingoes, or tropical dingoes. In recent times, people have begun to call them "Australian native dogs" or, reasoning that they are a subspecies of Canis lupus, an "Australian wolf".^[10]

The dingo also has different names in the multitude of different Indigenous Australian languages. Those names include joogong, mirigung, noggum, boolomo, papa-inura, wantibirri, maliki, kal, dwer-da, kurpany, aringka, palangamwari, repeti and warrigal.^[3] Some languages provide for different names for the dingoes depending on where they live; the Yarralin, for instance, call the dingoes that live with them walaku and the ones living in the wilderness ngurakin.^[2]

Description [edit]

Domestic and pariah dogs in southern Asia share so many characteristics with Australian dingoes that experts now consider them to be, if not "dingoes" in the Australian sense of the word (which implies an independent, wild animal, integrated into the ecosystem), members of the taxon Canis lupus dingo, a particular subspecies of Canis lupus. While the relationship with humans varies widely among these animals, they are all quite similar in terms of physical features.^[11]

Dingo skull illustrated by Frédéric Cuvier: As is typical in domestic dogs, the dingo's relative brain size is smaller than that of all non-domesticated subspecies of wolves, being almost identical in size to that of dogs considered Canis lupus familiaris.^[12]

A dingo has a relatively broad head, a pointed muzzle, and erect ears. Eye colour varies from yellow over orange to brown.^[13] Compared to other similarly sized familiaris dogs, dingoes have longer muzzles, larger carnassials, longer canine teeth, and flatter skulls with larger nuchal lines.^[9]

The average Australian dingo is 52 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in) tall at the shoulders and measures 117 to 154 cm (46 to 61 in) from nose to tail tip. The average weight is 13 to 20 kg (29 to 44 lb); however, there are a few records of outsized dingoes weighing up to 27 to 35 kg (60 to 77 lb).^[14][15] Males are typically larger and heavier than females of the same age. Dingoes from the North and the North-West of Australia are larger than Central and South-Australian populations. Australian dingoes are invariably heavier than Asian ones.^[3] The legs are about half the length of the body and the head put together. The hind feet make up a third of the hind legs and have no dewclaws.^[3] Dingoes can have sabre-form tails (typically carried erect with a curve towards the back) or tails carried directly on the back.^[13]

Fur [edit]

Typical dingo colouration

A white dingo

The fur of an adult dingo is short, bushy on the tail, and varies in thickness and length depending on the climate. The fur colour is mostly sandy to reddish brown, but can include tan patterns and be occasionally black, light brown, or white. Completely black dingoes were probably prevalent in Australia in the past, but have been sighted only rarely in recent times and are now more common in Asia than in Australia.^[9]

Most dingoes are at least bi-coloured, with small, white markings on the chest, muzzle, tag, legs, and paws being the most common feature. In the case of reddish individuals, there can be small, distinctive, and dark stripes on the shoulders. All other colour and colour-patterns on adult dingoes are regarded as evidence for interbreeding with other domestic dogs.^[3]

Origin and genetic status [edit]

Since dingoes were the largest placental mammals in Australia, apart from humans at the time of colonisation, and looked similar to dogs under human care but lived in the wild, their origin was a subject of much speculation and debate since the 18th century and especially in the first half of the 20th century. Later archaeological and morphological studies indicated a relatively late introduction and a close relationship to other domestic dogs. The exact descent, place of origin and time of their arrival in Australia were not identified, nor whether they were domesticated or half-domesticated at the time of their arrival and therefore were feral or completely wild dogs respectively.^[16]

A widely distributed theory says that dingoes have evolved or were bred from the Canis lupus pallipes or Canis lupus arabs around 6 000–10 000 years ago (this was also assumed for all domestic dogs^[17]). This theory was based on the morphological similarities of dingo skulls and the skulls of these wolves. However genetic analyses indicated a much earlier domestication.

Analyses of amino acid sequences of the haemoglobin of a "pure" dingo in the 70s supported the theory that dingoes are more closely related to other domestic dogs than to grey wolves or coyotes. Additionally it was assumed that dingoes and other Asian domestic dogs are members of a group of domestic dogs that went feral very early. At the same time, DNA-studies on Australian dingoes and other domestic dogs were performed to differentiate between both populations in a reliable way and determine the extent of the interbreeding. At the first two examinations, during which at first 14 loci and later 5 of these loci were examined, no genetic difference could be found. Later on the analyses were expanded to 16 loci. This time dingoes from Central Australia, the Eastern Highlands, dingo-hybrids and domestic dogs of other origin were examined. The researchers were surprised that they could not find any differences no matter what kind of examination they used. It was reasoned that dingoes and other domestic dogs have a very similar gene pool. However, since also only few differences in the enzymes of different species of the genus Canis could be found, it was assumed that a lack of differences might not indicate a close taxonomical relationship. It was also reasoned that the degree of interbreeding in the wild would be hard to determine.^[18]

During analyses in the end of the 1990s researchers also analysed 14 loci and detected a significantly lower genetic variability among Australian dingoes than among other domestic dogs and a small founding population was considered. There was one locus found that might have been suitable for differentiation, but not in the case of interbreeding of a dingo-hybrid with other "pure" dingoes. Additionally it was suspected that findings of other suitable loci might be used to determine whether there are clearly separate sub-populations of the "pure" dingoes.^[19]

To determine the origin and time of arrival of Australian dingoes, mtDNA-sequences of 211 dingoes and 19 archaeological samples from pre-European Polynesia have been compared in 2004 with DNA-samples of 676 other domestic dogs and 38 grey wolves. The domestic dog samples came from China, Africa, Southwest-Asia, India, Siberia, the arctic America, Europe, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the highlands of New Guinea. The dingo-samples came from zoos, wildlife parks, dingo-conservation-groups, dingo-lovers and 192 wild living specimen from 27 areas scattered over the Australian continent, mainly from the Pilbara-region, New South Wales and the Northeast of Victoria. The wild specimen had been selected based on similarities of external appearance, to exclude the influence of dingo-hybrids and other domestic dogs as far as possible.

Compared to wolves and other domestic dogs the variation of mtDNA-sequences was very limited too. Among dingoes only 20 mtDNA-sequences differing in 2 point mutations at most could be found. In comparison: 114 mtDNA-sequences with a maximal difference of 16 point mutations between the DNA-types could be found among other domestic dogs. Two of the dingo mtDNA-types were similar to that of other domestic dogs (A9, A29), while the other 18 types were unique to dingoes. In a phylogenetic tree of wolves and domestic dogs, dingoes fell right into the main clade (A), which contained 70% of all domestic dog types. Within this clade the dingo-types formed a group around the type A29, which was surrounded by twelve less frequent dingo-types, as well as a set of other domestic dog types. This mtDNA-type was found in 53% of the dingoes and was also found among some domestic dogs from East-Asia, New-Guinea and the American Arctic. Based on these findings it was reasoned that all dingo-mtDNA-types originated in A29. A9 was only found in one individual and it was regarded as possible that this type is the result of a parallel mutation. Based on a mutation-rate of mtDNA and that A29 is the only founder–type it was regarded as most likely that dingoes arrived in Australia about 4,600 to 5,400 years ago, which was consistent with archaeological findings. However, it was also considered that dingoes might have arrived within 4,600 to 10,800 years ago, in case that the mtDNA-mutation rate was slower than assumed. Furthermore it was reasoned that these findings strongly indicate a descent of dingoes from East-Asian domestic dogs and not from Indian domestic dogs or wolves. In addition these findings indicated two possibilities of descent:

• All Australian dingoes are descended from a few domestic dogs, theoretically one pregnant female
• All Australian dingoes are descended from a group of domestic dogs, who radically lost their genetic diversity through one or several severe genetic bottlenecks on their way from the Asian continent over Southeast-Asia

Nonetheless, the existence of other mtDNA-types on the islands surrounding Australia indicate there have been other types apart from A29 and only one single founding event. These results also indicated that there hasn't been any significant introduction of other domestic dog on the Australian continent prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Also, a shared origin and some sort of genetic exchange between Australian dingoes and the New Guinea singing dogs was regarded as possible. The current state of the Australian dingoes was ascribed to the long wild existence of these dogs and assumed that they are an isolated example of early domestic dogs.

Despite accordant claims,^[20][21] these findings did not show that only dingo females mate with non-dingo males and not vice versa. The findings would not allow such a conclusion, since the mating of a dingo female with a non-dingo male could not be detected via analyses of mtDNA. Furthermore the researchers made sure from the start that dingo-hybrids were excluded as far as possible.^[16]

Communication [edit]

Like all domestic dogs, dingoes tend towards a phonetic communication, the difference being that they howl and whimper more and bark less than domestic dogs. During research, eight sound classes with 19 sound types could be identified.^[22]

Barking [edit]

It is often wrongly asserted that dingoes do not bark. Compared to most other domestic dogs, the bark of a dingo is short and monosyllabic. During observations, the barking of Australian dingoes was revealed to have a relatively small variability, and the subgroups of barking characteristic of domestic dogs could not be found. Furthermore, only 5% of the observed vocalisations were made up of barking. Australian dingoes bark only in swooshing noises or in a mixture atonal/tonal. Also, barking is almost exclusively used for giving warnings. Warn-barking in a homotypical sequence and a kind of "warn-howling" in a heterotypical sequence have also been observed. The bark-howling starts with several barks and then fades into a rising and ebbing howl and is probably, similarly to coughing, used to warn the puppies and members of the pack. Additionally, dingoes emit a sort of "wailing" sound, which they mostly use when approaching a water hole, probably to warn already present dingoes.^[3]

According to the present state of knowledge, it is not possible to get Australian dingoes to bark more frequently by having them in contact with other domestic dogs. However, Alfred Brehm reported a dingo that completely learned the more "typical" form of barking and knew how to use it, while its brother did not.^[23] Whether dingoes bark or bark-howl less frequently in general is not certain.^[22]

Howling [edit]

Captive dingoes howling

Dingoes have three basic forms of howling (moans, bark-howl, and snuffs) with at least 10 variations. Usually, three kinds of howls are distinguished: long and persistent, rising and ebbing, and short and abrupt.

Observations have shown that every kind of howling has several variations, though their meanings are unknown. The frequency of howling varies depending on season and time of day, and is also influenced by breeding, migration, lactation, social stability, and dispersal behaviour. Also, howling can be more frequent in times of food shortage, because the dogs become more widely distributed within their home range.^[3] Additionally, howling seems to have a group-function and is sometimes an expression of joy (for example, greeting-howls). Overall howling was observed less frequently than among grey wolves. It can happen that one dog starts to howl, and several or all other dogs howl back and bark from time to time. In the wilderness, dingoes howl over long distances to attract other members of the pack, to find other dogs, and to keep intruders at bay. Dingoes howl in chorus with significant pitches and with increasing number of pack-members the variability of pitches also increases^[24] Therefore, it is suspected that dingoes can measure the size of a pack without visual contact.^[9] Moreover, it has been proposed that their highly variable chorus howls may generate a confounding effect in the receivers by making pack size appear larger.^[25]

Other forms of communication [edit]

During observations, growling made up 65% of the observed vocalisations. It was used in an agonistic context, for dominance and as a defensive sound. Similar to many other domestic dogs, a reactive usage of defensive growling could only be observed rarely or not at all. Growling very often occurs in combination with other sounds, and was observed almost exclusively in swooshing noises (similar to barking).^[22]

During observations in Germany, dingoes were heard to produce a sound that the observers called Schrappen. It was only observed in an agonistic context, mostly as a defence against obtrusive cubs or for defending resources. It was described as a bite intention, where the receiver is never touched or hurt. Only a clashing of the teeth could be heard.^[22]

Aside from vocal communication, dingoes communicate like all domestic dogs via scent marking specific objects (for example, Spinifex) or places (waters, trails, hunting grounds, and so forth) using chemical signals from their urine, feces, and scent glands. Males scent-mark more frequently than females, especially during the mating season. They also scent-rub, whereby a dog rolls on its neck, shoulders, or back on something that is usually associated with food or the scent markings of other dogs.^[3]

Unlike wolves, dingoes can react to social cues and gestures from humans.^[26]

Behaviour [edit]

Dingoes are often nocturnal in warmer regions, but more active during the day in cooler areas. Their main time of activity is around dusk and dawn. The periods of activity are short (often less than one hour) with short times of resting. They have two kinds of movement: a searching movement, apparently associated with hunting, and an exploratory movement, probably for contact and communication with other dogs.^[27][28]

In general, dingoes are shy towards humans. However, there are reports of dingoes that were not impressed by the presence of humans, for instance around camps in national parks, near streets or suburbs.^[14][29] According to studies in Queensland, the wild dogs there move freely at night through urban areas and cross streets and seem to get along quite well.^[30]

Dietary habits [edit]

About 170 species (from insects to buffalo) have been identified as being part of the dingo diet. In general, livestock seems to make up only a small proportion of their diets.^[3] In continent-wide examinations, 80% of the diet of wild dogs consisted of 10 species: red kangaroo, swamp wallaby, cattle, dusky rat, magpie goose, common brushtail possum, long-haired rat, agile wallaby, European rabbit and the common wombat. This narrow range of major prey indicates these wild dogs are rather specialised,^[9] but in the tropical rain forests of North-Eastern Australia, dingoes are supposed to be opportunistic hunters of a wide range of mammals.^[31] In certain areas, they tend to specialise on the most common prey, with a preference for medium to large-sized mammals. The consumption of domestic cats has also been proven.^[32] Nonmammalian prey is irregularly eaten and makes up only 10% of the dingo's diet. Big reptiles are only rarely captured, at least in Eastern Australia, although they are widespread. It is possible that especially big monitor lizards are too defensive and well-armed or simply able to flee fast enough into dens or climb trees.^[9]

A dingo near the Dingo Fence

Dietary composition varies from region to region. In the gulf region of Queensland, feral pigs and agile wallabies are the dingo's main prey. In the rain forests of the North, the main prey consists of magpie geese, rodents and agile wallabies. In the southern regions of the Northern Territory, the dogs mainly eat European rabbits, rodents, lizards, and red kangaroo; in arid central Australia, rabbits, rodents, lizards, red kangaroo, and cattle carcasses; and in the dry North-West, eastern wallaroos and red kangaroo. In the deserts of the South-West they primarily eat rabbits and in the eastern and south-eastern highlands wallabies, possums, and wombats. To what extent the availability of rabbits influences the composition of the diet could not be clarified. However, because rabbit haemorrhagic disease killed a large part of the Australian rabbit population at the end of the 20th century, it is suspected that the primary prey of the dogs has changed in the affected areas. Also, on Fraser Island, fish were proven to be a part of the dingo diet. The main prey species, though, were bandicoots and several rodents. They also ate a lot of echidnas, crabs, small skinks, fruits, and other plants, as well as insects (mostly beetles). During these observations, only 10% of the examined feces-samples contained human garbage (in earlier studies 50% were reported).^[9]

When scavenging for food, wild dogs (we presume the author is referring to all dogs free to roam, not just dingoes) primarily eat cattle and kangaroo carcasses. Dingoes in coastal regions regularly patrol the coast for dead fish, seals, penguins, and other washed-up birds.^[9]

Dingoes in general drink one litre of water a day in the summer and about half a litre a day in winter. During the winter in arid regions, dingoes could potentially live from the liquid in the bodies of their prey, as long as the number of prey is sufficient. Similarly, weaned cubs in central Australia are able to draw their necessary amounts of liquid from their food. There, regurgitation of water by the bitches for the cubs was observed. During lactation, females have no higher need of water than usual, since they consume the urine and feces of the cubs and therefore recycle the water and keep the den clean.^[9]

Hunting behaviour [edit]

Dingoes often kill by biting the throat and adjust their hunting strategies to suit circumstances. For bigger prey, due to their strength and potential danger, two or more individuals are needed. Such group formations are unnecessary when hunting rabbits or other small prey.^[9]

Kangaroo hunts are probably more successful in open areas than in places with high densities of vegetation, and juvenile kangaroos are killed more often than adults. Dingoes typically hunt large kangaroos by having lead dingoes chase the quarry toward their waiting packmates, which are skilled at cutting corners in chases. In one area of Central Australia, dingoes hunted kangaroos by chasing them toward a wire fence that hindered their escape.^[33] Birds can be captured when they do not fly or fail to take off fast enough. Dingoes also steal the prey of eagles and the coordinated attack of three dingoes for killing a large monitor lizard was observed.^[34] On Fraser Island, dingoes supposedly hunted and killed horses in coordinated attacks.^[35] Additionally, active fishing has been proven on the island. Reports also state that some dingoes virtually live entirely on human food through stealing, scavenging, or begging. In fact, dingoes are well known for such a behaviour in some parts of Australia. It is suspected that this might cause the loss of hunting strategies or a change in the social structures.^[36]

During studies at the Fortescue River in the mid-1970s, it was observed how most of the studied dingoes learned to hunt and kill sheep very quickly, even when they never had prior contact with sheep. Although the dingoes killed many sheep at that time, they still killed and ate kangaroos. During the early 1990s, wild dogs were observed to have an extraordinarily high success rate when killing sheep and did not have to hunt in a coordinated manner to achieve this. Often a dog only chases and outruns a single sheep, just to turn away suddenly and chase another. Therefore, only a small proportion of the hurt or killed sheep and goats are also eaten, which seems to be the rule and not the exception. The dog probably falls into some kind of "killing spree", due to the rather panicked and uncontrolled flight behaviour of the sheep, which run in front of the dingoes time and again and therefore cause one attack after another. Dingoes often attack sheep from behind during the sheep's flight, which causes injuries on the sheep's hind legs. Rams are normally attacked from the side – probably to avoid the horns – or sometimes on the testicles. Inexperienced dingoes or those that kill "for fun", sometimes cause significant damage on the sheep's hind legs, which often causes death.^[37][38]

Nearly all dingo attacks on cattle and water buffalo are directed against calves. Hunting success depends on the health and condition of the adult bovines and on their ability to defend their calves. The defence behaviour of the mother can be sufficient to fend off an attack. Therefore, the basic tactics of attacks are distracting the mother, rousing the herd/group and waiting (sometimes for hours), and testing of the herd to find the weakest members. While locating a cattle herd, it could be observed how the dingoes made several feint attacks, at which they concentrated on the calves at first and, later on, attacked the mothers to distract them. Thereupon, the dingoes retreated and waited at a distance from the herd until the rest of the cows had gathered their calves and moved on. During another occasion of an attack, "subgroups" of a dingo-pack were observed to take turns in attacking and resting, until the mother was too tired to effectively defend her calf. It was also observed how dingoes hunting a water buffalo with an estimated weight of 200 kg took turns in biting the buffalo's legs during the chase.^[9][39]

Social behaviour [edit]

Although dingoes are usually seen alone (especially in areas where they are controlled), most belong to a social group whose members meet from time to time and are temporarily together during the mating season to breed and raise pups. Dingoes are generally highly social animals and form, where possible, stable packs with clearly defined territories, which only rarely overlap with the territories of neighbouring packs. Intruders are mostly killed. These packs as a rule consist of three to 12 individuals (mostly the alpha pair, as well as the current litter and the previous year's litter), which occupy a territory throughout the whole year. However, regional variants show the flexible social structure of the dingo. Apparently, specialisation on bigger prey boosts social behaviour and the formation of bigger groups. During times of drought, packs in Australia fragment and the mortality rate of all the members, regardless of social status, is very high.

Packs have different (but not completely separate) hierarchies for males and females, and the ranking order is mostly established through ritualised aggression, especially among males. Overawing and agonistic behaviour occurs only in a reduced state among Australian dingoes. Serious fights could only be observed rarely and under extreme circumstances. Dogs of higher rank show this behaviour from time to time, to confirm their status, while those of lower rank are more prone to show conflict-preventive behaviour.

Bigger packs are often splintered into subgroups of flexible size. Additionally, lone individuals can occur in already occupied areas and can have loose contact with the groups, including participation in foraging for food. Desert areas have smaller groups of dingoes with a more loose territorial behaviour and sharing of the water sites.^[40] On Fraser Island, dingoes had pack sizes of two to 9 dogs with overlapping territories. However, they had a very high rate of infanticide, probably due to the high density of the island's dingo population when compared to the size of the island and prey population. Territory size and individual areas change over time depending on the availability of prey, but are not connected to pack size. Wild dogs only rarely move outside their territories. The areas of individuals can overlap. When territories of neighbouring packs overlap, the packs tend to avoid contact. The size of the territory and home range of dogs depends for the most part on the availability of prey. Home ranges are generally stable, but can change over time due to outside circumstances or changes in social organisation. Individuals that start to detach themselves from the pack have bigger home ranges at first, before they finally disperse.

Territories around human-dominated areas tend to be smaller and contain a relatively higher number of dingoes due to the better availability of food. According to studies in Queensland, the local wild dogs in urban areas have smaller territories of occasionally only two to three square kilometres. There, the existence of a territory of a single dingo could be proven, which only consisted of a small patch of bush near the fringe of a primary school in the heart of a small town.

Most dingoes stay near their areas of birth and do not travel more than 20 km per day, but some, especially young males, disperse. The size of the individual home range increases with age. The biggest recorded home ranges (90–300 km²) came from the deserts of Southwest Australia. In the center of the Northern Territory, home ranges of up to 270 km² were observed.^[41] Home ranges in other parts of the continent can be 45–113 km² in the Northwest, 25–67 km² in Central Australia, on average 3 km² in the tropic North and 10–27 km² in the forests of the eastern mountains.

Reproduction [edit]

Dingo pups from the Tierpark Berlin

Dingoes breed once annually, depending on the estrus cycle of the females, which according to most sources, only come in heat once per year. Dingo females can come in heat twice per year, but can only be pregnant once a year, with the second time only seeming to be pregnant (at most).^[42][43]

Males are virile throughout the year in most regions, but have a lower sperm production during the summer in most cases. During studies on dingoes from the Eastern Highlands and Central Australia in captivity, no breeding cycle could be observed. All were potent throughout the year. The breeding was only regulated by the heat of the females. A rise in testosterone was observed in the males during the breeding season, but this was attributed to the heat of the females and copulation. In contrast to the captive dingoes, captured dingo males from Central Australia did show evidence of a male breeding cycle. Those dingoes showed no interest in females in heat (this time other domestic dogs) outside of the mating season (January to July) and did not breed with them.^[44]

The mating season usually occurs in Australia between March and May (according to other sources between April and June). In Southeast Asia, mating occurs between August and September. During this time, dingoes may actively defend their territories using vocalisations, dominance behaviour, growling, and barking.^[9]

Most females in the wild start breeding at the age of two years, and within packs, the alpha female tends to go into heat before subordinates and actively suppresses mating attempts by other females. Males become sexually mature between the ages of one to three years. The precise start of breeding varies depending on age, social status, geographic range, and seasonal conditions. Among dingoes in captivity, the pre-estrus was observed to last 10–12 days. However, it is suspected that the pre-estrus may last as long as 60 days in the wild.^[3]

A male dingo with his pups

In general, the only dingoes in a pack that successfully breed are the alpha pair, and the other pack members help with raising the pups. Subordinates are actively prevented from breeding by the alpha pair and some subordinate females have a false pregnancy. Low-ranking or solitary dingoes can successfully breed if the pack structure breaks up.^[41]

The gestation period lasts for 61–69 days and the size of the litter can range from one to 10 (usually five) cubs, with the number of males born tending to be higher than that of females. Pups of subordinate females usually get killed by the alpha female, which causes the population increase to be low even in good times. This behaviour possibly developed as an adaptation to the fluctuating environmental conditions in Australia. Pups are usually born between May and August (the winter period), but in tropical regions, breeding can occur at any time of the year.^[3]

At the age of three weeks, the pups leave the den for the first time, and leave it completely at eight weeks. In Australia, dens are mostly underground. There are reports of dens in abandoned rabbit burrows, rock formations, under boulders in dry creeks, under large spinifex, in hollow logs, in augmented burrows of monitor lizards, and wombat burrows. The pups usually stray around the den within a radius of 3 km, and are accompanied by older dogs during longer travels. The transition to consuming solid food is normally accompanied by all members of the pack during the age of 9 to 12 weeks. Apart from their own experiences, pups also learn through observation.^[45] Young dingoes usually become independent at the age of three to six months or they disperse at the age of 10 months when the next mating season starts.

Migration [edit]

Dingoes usually remain in one area and do not undergo seasonal migrations. However, during times of famine, even in normally "safe" areas, dingoes travel into pastoral areas, where intensive, human-induced control measures are undertaken. It was already noted in Western Australia in the 1970s that young dogs can travel for long distances when necessary. About 10% of the dogs captured—all younger than 12 months—were later recaptured far away from their first position. Among these, 10% of the travelled distance for males was 21.7 km and for females 11 km.^[46] Therefore, travelling dingoes had lower chances of survival in foreign territories, and it was assumed to be unlikely that they would survive long migrations through occupied territories. The rarity of long migration routes seemed to confirm this assumption. During investigations in the Nullarbor Plain, even longer migration routes were recorded. The longest recorded migration route of a radio-collared dingo was about 250 km.

Mortality and health [edit]

Cases in which dingoes in captivity have survived for up to 24 years have been recorded.^[13]

The main causes of death for dingoes are killings by humans, crocodiles, and dogs, including other dingoes. Other causes of death include starvation and dehydration during times of drought or after strong bush fires, infanticide, snake bites, killing of cubs by wedge-tailed eagles, and injuries caused by cattle and buffalo.

Dingoes are susceptible to the same diseases as domestic dogs. At present, 38 species of parasites and pathogens have been detected in Australian dingoes. The bulk of these diseases have a minimal influence on their survival. The exceptions include canine distemper, hookworms, and heart worms in North Australia and southeastern Queensland. Dingo pups can also be killed by lungworms, whipworms, hepatitis, coccidiosis, lice, and ticks. Sarcoptic mange is a widespread parasitic disease among the dingoes of Australia, but is seldom debilitating. Free-roaming dogs are the primary host of Echinococcosis-tapeworms and have an infection rate of 70 to 90%.

Present day distribution [edit]

It is only possible to give a crude description of the dingo's distribution area and the accordant population density. It is difficult to give an exact assessment of the distribution of dingoes and other domestic dogs, since the exact extent of interbreeding between the two is not known. The following information on the distribution of the dingo applies to dogs classified as dingoes based on fur colour, body form, and breeding cycle, therefore the maps on their distribution might be conflicting.

Distribution in the past [edit]

Based on fossil, molecular, and anthropogenic evidence, it is assumed that dingoes once might have had a widespread distribution. These ancient dingoes would have associated with nomadic hunter-gatherer societies and later with the rising agricultural centres. It is further assumed that they would have been tamed there and were then transported to various places in the world. Dingo findings from Thailand and Vietnam are regarded as the oldest findings, which have been estimated to be, respectively, as old as 5,000–5,500 years. The age of findings from the highlands of Indonesia vary between a maximum of 5,000 and (in most cases) 2,500 to 3,000 years.

The first-ever European illustration of a dingo, from Arthur Phillip's Voyage to Botany Bay in 1789. The pictured specimen was a female taken alive by Governor Phillip and given to the Marquess of Salisbury, at Hatfield House.^[47]

Originally, the dingo was suspected to have been introduced to Australia in the Pleistocene by Aborigines, which led to confusion concerning the dingo's nomenclature. Today, the most common theory is that the dingo arrived in Australia about 4,000 years ago. In 1979 an eroding dingo skeleton was excavated by Brown and Gollan (ANU) on the mid-coast of southern NSW,^[48] dated to 6,000 years of age. More recent mitochondrial DNA research estimates the arrival of dingoes to be between 4,600 years and 18,300 years.^[49] Evidence of dingoes appears to be absent from Tasmania, which was separated from the main Australian landmass around 12,000 years ago due to a rise in sea level, which led to the theory of dingoes not having been in Australia longer than this time. To reach Australia from Asia, there would have been at least 50 km of open sea to be crossed, even at the lowest sea level. Since there are few if any cases of a large land animal making such a journey by itself (the Falkland Islands wolf being a possible exception), the ancestors of modern dingoes most likely were brought to Australia on boats by Asian seafarers.^[16] A dance of the Aborigines on the coastal regions of the Kimberley, during which they depict dogs running excitedly up and down a boat and finally jumping into the water, is seen as further evidence for the introduction of dingoes by seafarers.^[50] These dogs possibly were used as food or eventually guard dogs. Potentially, the dingo came to Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific in the course of expansion of the Austronesian culture.

Theoretical dingo migration routes

The two main theories concerning the geographical origin and travel routes of the modern dingo's ancestors and their arrival in Australia are:^[51]

• An East Asian origin and a travel route over the Southeast Asian islands due to their close proximity to Australia, and the relatively easy accessibility over the islands of the Southeast Asian archipelago: This theory is supported by examination of the mtDNA of Australian dingoes.^[16]
• An introduction of sheepdogs from the Indus Valley in Asia, over Timor by Indian seafarers, based on similarities in skeletal anatomy of Indian pariah dogs and Iranian wolves: This theory implies that the oldest known fossils are 4,000 years old and were found on Timor, where the dogs coexisted for a while with pigs and sheep. This theory would be supported by the assumption that the simultaneous appearance of certain stone tools was caused by Indian influence, but this is disputed by other authorities. Recent genetic research on aboriginal DNA seems to support this conclusion, that Indian sea-farers brought their dogs and other tools - to Australia - along with them 4000 years ago ^[52][53][54]

Whether there were several introductions of dingoes to Australia or just one is not known yet.

The first official report of a "wild dog" in Australia comes from Captain William Dampier in 1699.^[55] At the time, dingoes were probably widespread over the main part of the continent and lived in the wild, as well as alongside the Aboriginals. They were mostly tolerated by the European settlers and sometimes kept as pets. The number of dingoes was probably low in those times and increased since then in some parts of Australia. Their numbers probably increased strongly around the 1880s due to the establishment of the pastoral economy and artesian watering places, and probably peaked in the 1930s and 1950s. Afterwards, the numbers have remained high, but the percentage of dingo-hybrids has significantly increased since then.

Distribution [edit]

Possible distribution of the dingo (red): The red area in Papua New Guinea shows the possible distribution of the Hallstrom dog.

Today, dingoes live in all kinds of habitats, including the snow-covered mountain forests of Eastern Australia, the deserts of Central Australia, and Northern Australia's tropical forest wetlands. The absence of dingoes in many parts of the Australian grasslands is probably caused by human persecution. Based on skull characteristics, size, fur colour, and breeding cycles, distinct regional populations could exist between Australia and Asia, but not within Australia.^[3][9]

Distribution map of Australian dingoes: The black line represents the Dingo Fence (after Fleming et al. 2001).

Today, the whole population of wild dogs on the Australian continent consists, besides dingoes, of a wide panoply of feral domestic dogs (mostly mixed-breeds and dingo-hybrids) with an enormous variety of colours. Due to the increased availability of water, native and introduced prey, livestock and human-provided food, the number of wild dogs is regarded as increasing. Reports from some parts of Australia state that wild dogs now hunt in packs there, although they had hunted on a solitary basis before.^[56] Dingo densities have been measured at up to 0.3 per square kilometre in both the Guy Fawkes River region of NSW and in South Australia at the height of a rabbit plague.^[9]

"Pure"^[57] dingoes are regarded as widespread in Northern, Northwest, and Central Australia; rare in Southern and Northeast Australia; and possibly extinct in the South-Eastern and South-Western areas. The establishment of agriculture caused a significant decrease in dingo numbers, and they were practically expelled from the territories occupied by the sheep industry. This primarily affects large parts of southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. This situation was maintained by the construction of the Dingo Fence. Although dingoes were eradicated from most areas south of the Dingo Fence, they still exist in an area of about 58,000 km² in the dry Northern areas north of the Dingo Fence and therefore on about 60% of the whole area. In Victoria, wild dog populations are currently concentrated on the densely forested areas of the Eastern Highlands, from the border to New South Wales southern to Healesville and Gembrook. They also exist in the large desert in the northwest of the state. Wild dog populations in New South Wales primarily exist along the Great Dividing Range and the hinterlands on the coast, as well as in the Sturt National Park in the northwest of the state. In the rest of the continent, dingoes are regarded as widespread, with the exception of the arid eastern half of Western Australia. In the bordering areas of South Australia and the Northern Territory, they are regarded as naturally scarce. Wild dogs are widespread in the Northern Territory, with the exception of the Tanami and Simpson Deserts, where they are rare due to the lack of watering holes. However, local concentrations exist there near artificial water sources. According to DNA examinations from 2004, the dingoes of Fraser Island are "pure".^[58] However, skull measurements from the mid-1990s had a different result.^[59]

Outside Australia, dingoes were proven to exist in Thailand, based on comparisons between the skulls of Thai dogs and those of fossil and present-day dingoes. The population there probably has the biggest proportion of "pure" dingoes. They are widespread in northern and central Thailand and rare in the southern regions. They may also exist in Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Vietnam, but if they exist there, their distribution is unknown. Dingoes are regarded as widespread in Sulawesi, but their distribution in the rest of Indonesia is unknown. They are regarded as rare in the Philippines and are probably extinct on many islands. In Korea, Japan, and Oceania, a few local dog breeds with dingo-like features exist, but dingoes are considered extinct there.^[3]

Ecological impact of the dingo after its arrival in mainland Australia [edit]

The dingo is suspected to have caused the extinction of the thylacine, the Tasmanian devil, and the Tasmanian Native-hen from mainland Australia, since a correlation in space and time is found between the arrival of the dingo and the extinctions of these species. However, dingoes do not seem to have had the same ecological impact the red fox had in later times. This might be connected to the dingo's way of hunting and the size of their favoured prey, as well as the low number of dingoes in the time before European colonisation.^[60]

The assumption that dingoes and thylacines may have been competitors for the same prey stems from the external similarities of the two species; the thylacine had a stronger and more efficient bite, but was probably dependent on relatively small prey, while the dingo's stronger skull and neck would have allowed it to bring down bigger prey.^[61] The dingo was probably a superior hunter, as it hunted cooperatively in packs and could better defend resources, while the thylacine was probably more solitary. Also, wild dingo populations might have had demographic support from conspecifics living with humans and may have introduced new diseases that affected the thylacine more severely.^{[citation needed]} The extinction of the thylacine on the continent around 2000 years ago has also been linked with changes in climate and land use of the Aborigines. It is plausible to name the dingo as the cause of the extinction, but significant morphological differences between the two are found, which suggest the ecological overlapping of both species might be exaggerated; the dingo has the dentition of a generalist, while the thylacine had the dentition of a specialist carnivore without any signs of consumption of carrion or bones. It is also argued that the thylacine was a flexible predator that should have withstood the competition by the dingo, but was instead wiped out due to human persecution.^{[citation needed]}

This theory also has problems with explaining how the Tasmanian devil and the dingo coexisted on the same continent until about 430 years ago, when the dingo supposedly caused the Tasmanian devil's demise. The group dynamics of dingoes should have successfully kept devils away from carrion, and since dingoes are able to break bones, little would have been left for the devils to scavenge. Additionally, devils are successful hunters of small to medium-sized prey, so there should have been an overlapping of the species in this area, too. Furthermore, the arguments that the dingo caused the extinction of the thylacine, the devil and the hen are in direct conflict with each other. If the dingo were really so similar to the thylacine and the Tasmanian devil in its ecological role and suppressed both, the hen coexisting with both for such an extended time is strange. Although this is a possible result of the dingo's introduction, critics regard the evidence for this as insubstantial.^[62]

Impact [edit]

Reliable information about the exact ecological, cultural, and economic impact of wild dogs does not exist yet. Furthermore, the impact of wild dogs depends on several factors and a distinction between dingoes and other domestic dogs is not necessarily made.

The appearance of a wild dog is sometimes very important when it comes to the cultural and economical impact. Here it is often desired that the wild dog's appearance complies to what is demanded, that it is a "pure" dingo or at least looks like one.^[63] In case of their economic impact, their appearance only seem to be important when "pure" dingoes are used as a tourist attraction. Where wild dogs are regarded as pests, their appearance is only of minor importance, if of any importance at all.

The impact wild dogs have in urban areas and whether they are a danger to humans (direct attacks, diseases, and more) is unknown yet.

Ecological impact [edit]

Today, the dingo is regarded as part of the native Australian fauna by environmentalists, as well as biologists, especially since these dogs existed on the continent before the arrival of the Europeans and a mutual adaption of the dingoes and their surrounding ecosystems had occurred. However, the contrary view has dingoes as just another introduced predator, and are only native to Thailand.^[64]

Much of the present place of wild dogs in the Australian ecosystem and especially in the urban areas remains unknown. Although the ecological role of dingoes in Northern and Central Australia is well understood, the same does not apply to the role of wild dogs in the East of the continent. In contrast to some claims,^[65] dingoes are assumed to have a positive impact on the environment.^{[citation needed]}

Dingoes are regarded as apex predators and possibly perform an ecological key function. It is likely (with increasing evidence from scientific research), then, that they control the diversity of the ecosystem by limiting the number of prey and keeping the competition in check. Wild dogs hunt feral livestock such as goats and pigs, as well as native prey and introduced animals. The low number of feral goats in Northern Australia possibly is caused by the presence of the dingoes, but whether they control the goats' numbers or not is still disputable. Studies from 1995 in the northern wet forests of Australia found the dingoes there did not reduce the number of feral pigs, but their predation only has an impact on the pig population together with the presence of water buffalos (which hinder the pigs' access to food).^[66] Mike West, former president of Birds Queenland, blames dingoes for cutting down the number of Black-breasted Buttonquails on Inskip Point on Fraser Island to one.^[67] West suggests that dingoes and wild dogs should be trapped; pure dingoes would be relocated and non-pure dingoes and wild dogs would be killed.^[68]

Observations concerning the mutual impact of dingoes and red fox and cat populations suggest dingoes limit the access of foxes and cats to certain resources. So it is assumed that a disappearance of the dingoes may cause an increase of red fox and feral cat numbers, and therefore a higher pressure on native animals. These studies found the presence of dingoes is one of the factors that keep fox numbers in an area low, and therefore reduces pressure on native animals, which then do not disappear from the area. It could be proven that the countrywide numbers of red foxes are especially high where dingo numbers are low, but other factors might responsible for this, depending on the area.^[32] Evidence was found for a competition between wild dogs and red foxes in the Great Blue Mountains of New South Wales, since there were many overlaps in spectrum of preferred prey, but there was only evidence for local competition not on a grand scale.^[69] It is also possible that dingoes can live with red foxes and feral cats without reducing their numbers in areas with sufficient food resources (for example, high rabbit numbers) and hiding places. Nearly nothing is known about the relationship of wild dogs and feral cats, except both mostly live in the same areas. Although wild dogs also eat cats, it is not known whether this has an impact on the cat populations.^[32] At the moment, the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre is investigating the exact effects of dingoes on the fox and cat populations to determine the benefits of keeping the dog in certain areas of Australia.^[70] In many areas, wild dogs live together with the most species of quolls, except for the eastern quoll, which is probably extinct on the continent, so wild dogs are not regarded as a threat to them.

Additionally, the disappearance of dingoes might increase the prevalence of kangaroo, rabbit, and turkey numbers. In the areas outside the Dingo Fence, the number of dingoes and emus is lower than in the areas inside, however the numbers changed depending on the habitat. Since the environment is the same on both sides of the fence, the dingo was assumed to be a strong factor for the regulation of these species.^[71] Therefore, some people demand that dingo numbers should be allowed to increase or dingoes should be reintroduced in areas with low dingo populations to lower the pressure on endangered populations of native species and to reintroduce them in certain areas. In addition, the presence of the Australian Brushturkey in Queensland increased significantly after dingo baiting was conducted.^[72]

Cultural impact [edit]

Cultural opinions about the dingo are often based on its perceived "cunning", and the idea that it is an intermediate between civilisation and wildness.^[73]

Some of the early European settlers compared dingoes to domestic dogs and perceived them as such, while others compared them to wolves. Over the years, dingoes started to attack sheep and their relationship to the Europeans changed very quickly: they were regarded as devious and cowardly since they did not fight bravely in the eyes of the Europeans and just vanished in the bush.^[74] Dingoes were seen as predators that killed wantonly, rather than out of hunger (similar claims are made today concerning dingo-hybrids).^[75] Additionally, they were seen as promiscuous or as devils with a venomous bite or saliva, and thus, no reservations were required to kill one. Over the years, dingo trappers gained a kind of prestige for their work, primarily when they managed to kill dingoes that were especially hard to catch, so dingoes were associated with thieves, vagabonds, bushrangers, and parliamentary opponents. The oldest evidence of politicians calling their opponents "dingo" (therefore cowardly and treacherous) is from the 1960s and it became very popular afterwards.^[50] Today the word "dingo" still stands for coward and cheat and the verb and adjective forms have the appropriate meanings.^[73]

The image of the dingo now ranges from the romantic to the demonic.^[76][77] While some Australians see the dingo as a wild dog, others perceive them to be more like slightly tame wolves, and cultural biases about either of these animals affect general perceptions about dingoes, as well. Dingoes are called an icon of Australia, which should be preserved (at least in its "pure" form), and its possible "extinction" is also compared to that of the thylacine.^[1] Where dingoes are regarded as pests regardless of their "rehabilitation",^[77] this attitude can degenerate into full hatred. In the process, it is sometimes said that dingoes are detrimental for the society and the environment (for example, that they are in general the cause for the extinction of native animals). Dingoes (no matter whether "pure" or not) are then treated as a scourge that must be eradicated. In such cases, it is also deemed acceptable to kill all wild dogs if it would save one human life.^[65] Besides this, there is also among bureaucrats the opinion that wild dogs are cruel towards sheep and cattle and therefore every cruelty against them is justified.^[78]

Traditionally, dogs have a privileged position in the aboriginal cultures of Australia (which the dingo may have adopted from the thylacine) and the dingo is a well-known part of rock carvings and cave paintings.^[2] Ceremonies (like a keen at the Cape York Peninsula in the form of howling^[45]) and dreamtime stories are connected to the dingo, which were passed down through the generations. There are strong feelings that dingoes should not be killed, and in some areas women are breast feeding young cubs. In most cases they are treated with extraordinary indulgence, although the reasons for this might not be any kindness, since dogs are sometimes treated quite brutally. Nonetheless, there seems to be a big feeling of community although the reasons for this do not seem to always be clear. Similar to how Europeans acquired dingoes, the Aboriginal people of Australia acquired dogs from the immigrants very quickly. This process was so fast, Francis Barrallier (the first European to explore the Outback) discovered in 1802 that five dogs of European origin were there before him.^[50] There is the theory that other domestic dogs will adopt the role of the "pure" dingo.^[76] In fact, the majority of the myths about dingoes just call them dogs (whether that role was adopted or there was no difference for the storyteller is unknown)^[2] and other introduced animals, such as the water buffalo and the domestic cat, have been adopted into the indigenous aboriginal culture in the forms of rituals, traditional paintings, and dreamtime stories.^[73]

The dingo is connected to holy places, totems, rituals, and dreamtime characters. There are stories that dogs can see the supernatural, are guard dogs, and warn against evil powers. There is evidence that dogs have been buried with their owners to protect them against evil even after death.^[79] Most of the published myths hail from the Western Desert and show a remarkable complexity. In some stories dingoes are the central characters, in others only minor ones. One-time it is an ancestor from the dreamtime, who created humans and dingoes or gave them their current shape. Then there are stories about creation, socially acceptable behaviour, and explanations why some things are the way they are. There are myths about shapeshifters (human to dingo or vice versa), "dingo-people", and the creation of certain landscapes or elements of those landscapes, like waterholes or mountains. The dingo is also responsible for death. In other myths, there are advice and warnings to those who do not want to follow the social rules. Stories can show the borders of one's territory or the dingo in it might stand for certain members of the community, for example, rebellious dingoes stand for "wild" members of the tribe. The dingo also has a wild and uncontrollable face in other stories and there are many stories about dingoes that kill and eat humans (for example, the Mamu, which catches and devours the spirit of every child who roams too far from the campfire).^[2] Other stories tell of a giant devil dingo, from which ordinary dingoes originate. The dog is thereby depicted as a homicidal, malicious creature that—apart from the lack of a subtle mind—is similar to a trickster, since it plays the role of a mischievous adversary for other mythological beings. Many of them fall victim to blood-thirsty dogs or escape them. Here, individual beings have a significant meaning too or sometimes become part of the landscape. Even the actions of these dogs result for instance in the creations of stones and trees from flying around bones and meat or ochre from the spilled blood.^[79]

Economic impact [edit]

Wild dogs are responsible for a wide range of negative and undesired impacts on the livestock industry of Australia and have been regarded as pests since the start of the European livestock industry. Thereby, sheep are the most frequent prey, followed by cattle and goats. Research on the real extent of the damage, though, and reason for this problem only started recently. Livestock can die from many causes, and when the carcass is found, it is often difficult to determine with certainty what the cause of death was. Since the outcome of an attack on livestock depends to a high degree on the behaviour and experience of the predator and the prey, only direct observation is certain to determine whether an attack was by dingoes or another sort of domestic dog. Even the leftovers from the prey in the scat of wild dogs do not prove they are pests, since wild dogs also eat carrion. Exact numbers or reliable estimates of the damage caused by wild dogs are therefore hard to get and seldom reliable. Even if livestock is not a big part of the dingo's diet, the extent of damage dingoes could cause to the livestock industry could be much larger because of wanton killing.

The significance of dingoes as a pest is mainly based on the predation of sheep and to a lesser extent on cattle, and is not connected only to the direct loss of livestock. Sheep of every age are susceptible to dingo attacks, but in the case of cattle, only the calves are susceptible. Harassment of sheep can cause a less optimal use of grassland and miscarriages.

Distribution of wild dogs and livestock (after Breckwoldt 1988, Corbett 1995a, Fleming 1996a)

The cattle industry can tolerate low to moderate and sometimes high grades of wild dogs (therefore dingoes are not so easily regarded as pests in these areas); in the case of sheep and goats, a zero-tolerance attitude is common. The biggest threats are dogs that live inside or near the paddock areas. The extent of sheep loss is hard to determine due to the wide pasture lands in some parts of Australia. The numbers of cattle losses is much more variable and less well documented. Although the loss of cattle can rise up to 30%,^[41] the normal loss rate is about 0–10%.^[80] Thereby factors like availability of native prey, as well as the defending behaviour and health of the cattle play an important role for the number of losses. A study in Central Australia in the year 2003 confirmed, that dingoes only have a low impact on cattle numbers, when enough other prey like kangaroos and rabbits are available. In some parts of Australia it is assumed that the loss of calves can be minimised if horned cattle are used instead of polled.^[9] The exact economical impact is not known in this case, and it is unlikely that the rescue of some calves compensates for the necessary costs of control measures. Calves usually suffer less lethal wounds than sheep due to their size and the protection by the adult cattle and have a higher chance of surviving an attack. Therefore it can happen that the evidence for a dog attack is only found after the cattle have been herded back in the enclosure and signs like bitten ears, tails, and other wounds are discovered. The opinions of cattle-owners about dingoes are more variable than the ones of sheep-owners and some cattle-owners believe that it is better that the weakened mother loses her calf in times of drought so she does not have to care for her calf too and therefore these owners hesitate more on killing dingoes. Laurie Corbett also stated this theory.^[45] Also the cattle industry may benefit from the predation of dingoes on rabbits, kangaroos, and rats. Furthermore the mortality rate of calves has many possible causes and it is hard to discriminate between them. The only reliable method to document the damage would be to document all pregnant cows and observe their development and that of their calves.^[41] The loss of calves in observed areas where dingoes were controlled was higher than in other ones. Loss of livestock is therefore not necessarily caused by the occurrence of dingoes and is independent from wild dogs.^[81]

Domestic dogs are the only terrestrial predators in Australia that are big enough to kill fully grown sheep and only a few sheep manage to recover from the severe injuries. In the case of lambs, death can have many causes apart from attacks by predators. Often the predators are blamed for the deaths, because they eat from the carcasses. Although attacks by Red Foxes appear, it happens more rarely than previously thought.^[81] The fact that the sheep and goat industry is much more susceptible for damage caused by wild dogs than the cattle industry is mostly due to two factors:

• The flight behaviour of the sheep and their quirk to flock together in the face of danger
• The hunting methods of wild dogs and the efficiency of their way of handling goat and sheep

Therefore the damage for the livestock industry is not in relation to the numbers of wild dogs in an area (except that there is no damage where no wild dogs occur^[81]). Even if there are only a few wild dogs in an area, the damage for the sheep industry can be very high, since surplus killing can occur. Sometimes extreme losses of livestock are reported (once supposedly 2000 sheep in one night^[64]) and are supposed to be increasing.

According to a report from the Government of Queensland, wild dogs cost the state yearly about 30 million dollars due to livestock-losses, spreading of diseases and control measures. Losses for the livestock-industry alone were estimated to be as high as 18 million dollars.^[41] According to a survey among cattle owners in 1995, performed by the Park and Wildlife Service, owners estimated their annual losses due to wild dogs (depending on the district) from 1.6% to 7.1%.^[82] Despite the variety of estimations, there is little doubt that predation by dingoes can cause enormous economical damage, especially in times of drought when natural prey is sparse and the dingo numbers are still relatively high. Furthermore wild dogs are involved in the spreading of Echinococcosis among cattle and sheep, as well as heartworms and parvoviruses among dogs under human care. An infection with Echinococcosis can leads to confiscation of 90% of the intestines, which further leads to a value decrease of the meat and high economical damage. Furthermore, bitten livestock can only be sold for a lower price.

Dogs are regarded as a delicacy in East-Asia and Oceania and are regularly killed for eating. In the northeast of Thailand about 200 dingoes are killed per week to be sold on the meat market. Before the start of the 20th century dingoes were also eaten by Indigenous Australians, but there are now reports about this practice in recent times.^[3] Among them dingoes were also used as hunting aids, living hot-water bottles, and camp-dogs. Their scalps were used as a kind of currency, teeth were traditionally used for decorative purposes, and their fur for traditional costumes. In some parts of Australia premiums are paid for dingo fur and scalps. Fur of dingoes mostly has only a low value and an export of this fur is forbidden in states where they are protected. There is also no widespread commercial catching and killing of dingoes for obtaining their fur. Sometimes "pure" dingoes have an importance for tourism, when they are used to attract more visitors. However this seems only to have been done on Fraser Island, where the dingoes are extensively used as a symbol to make the island more attractive. The experience of personally interacting with dingoes seems to be especially important for the tourists. Pictures of dingoes appear on the majority of brochures, many web sites, and post cards that advertise the island.^[36] The usage of dingo-urine as a repellent against dingoes and wallabies was taken into consideration, but has not been economically implemented yet.^[83]

Legal status [edit]

Until 2004 the dingo was classified as "Lower Risk/least concern" on the Red List of Threatened Species, but the assessment was changed to vulnerable, as the number of "pure" dingoes had decreased to about 30% because of interbreeding with other domestic dogs.^[84] The dingo is regarded as a regulated, native species (but not threatened) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) in the Commonwealth of Nations and is therefore protected in the national parks of the Commonwealth, as well as in World Heritage Sites and other conservation areas. However, this law also allows that dingoes can be controlled in areas where they have a proven impact on the environment. The law forbids the export of dingoes or their body parts from Australia, except for cases where it is regulated by the law. The legal status of the dingo and other wild dogs varies across the Australian federal states and territories:^[41]

• Northern Territory: the dingo is regarded as protected, not threatened and native (due to its ecological impact) under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (2000). Dingoes in the Northern Territory are regarded as having an important conservational value since interbreeding of dingoes and other domestic dogs is low in the area. However dingoes can be legally killed when they are a danger for the livestock industry.
• Western Australia: Dingoes and their hybrids are regarded as declared animals under the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act (1976). Populations have to be controlled and can be kept as pets under certain conditions. Control measures are strictly confined to livestock areas and other domestic dogs are controlled in general. Dingoes are also regarded as unprotected native fauna under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act (1950). Although not protected, dingoes are normally not hunted without permission in conservation areas.
• South Australia: Dingoes and their hybrids are appointed pests in the sheep areas south of the Dingo Fence under the Animal and Plant Control Board (Agricultural Protection and Other Purposes) Act (1986). There they have to be controlled and can only be kept in captivity of authorised zoos and wildlife parks. North of the Dingo Fence dingoes are regarded as legitimate wildlife and although they are not protected, they are given a certain protection in a buffer zone of 35 km northern of the Dingo Fence.
• Queensland: Dingoes and their hybrids are regarded as pests under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002. All landowners are legally committed to reduce the number of all wild dogs on their lands. The dingo is regarded as wildlife and native wildlife under the Nature Conservation Act (1992) and is a natural resource (therefore protected) in conservation areas. Outside of these areas dingoes are not regarded as native Australian and are not protected. Dingoes and their hybrids can only be kept in wildlife parks and zoos with ministerial agreement.
• New South Wales: The Rural Lands Protection Act (1998) allocates wild dogs the status of pests and demands from landowners, that they shall be decimated or eradicated.^{[citation needed]} Although dingoes are not regarded as protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974), they are granted full protection in national parks. The dingo is regarded as a native species under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995), since these dogs had established populations before the European colonisation. The Wild Dog Destruction Act (1921) includes dingoes in its definition of wild dogs. This law only affects the western part of the state, where landowners are committed to control wild dogs. The law forbids the ownership of dingoes in that region, except when you have a legal permission. In other parts of the federal state dingoes can be kept as pets due to the Companion Animals Act (1998).
• Australian Capital Territory: Dingoes are regarded as protected under the Nature Conservation Act (1980). On private land killing of wild dogs is allowed when you have permission from the territory.
• Victoria: Wild dogs are regarded as established pests under the Catchment and Land Protection Act (1994) and landowners (except from the Commonwealth) have the legal duty to hinder the spreading of wild dogs on their lands and to eradicate them as much as possible. The term wild dogs includes here all dingoes, feral domestic dogs, dogs who became wild and crossbreeds (except for recognised breeds like the Australian Cattle Dog).^[85] The Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animal Act (1994) commits every dog owner to have their dogs under control on all times. The dingoes are granted a certain protection in areas that are managed by the National Parks Act (1975). Since 1998 it is possible to own dingoes as pets.^[50] At the time there is the possibility that "pure" dingoes may become officially classified as a protected species, according to official statements, that would not stand in conflict with control measures against wild dogs.^[86] Update: In 2008, Dingoes were officially declared a threatened species (in danger of extinction) and are now protected.
• Tasmania: The import of dingoes to Tasmania is forbidden under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1970). The control of dogs that attack livestock is managed under the Dog Control Act (1987).

Control measures [edit]

Dingo attacks on livestock led to widescale efforts to repel them from areas with intensive agricultural usage, and all states and territories have enacted laws for the control of dingoes.^[9] In the early 20th century, fences were erected to keep dingoes away from areas frequented by sheep, and a tendency to routinely eradicate dingoes developed among some livestock owners. Established methods for the control of dingoes in sheep areas consisted in the employment of certain workers on every property. The job of these people (who were nicknamed "doggers") was to reduce the number of dingoes by using steel traps, baits, firearms and other methods. The responsibility for the control of wild dogs lay solely in the hands of the land owners. At the same time, the government was forced to decimate the number of dingoes that came from unoccupied areas or reserves that might have travelled to industrial areas. As a result, a number of measures for the control of dingoes developed over time. It was also considered that dingoes travel over long distances to reach areas with richer prey populations and the control was often concentrated along "paths" or "trails" and in areas that were far away from sheep areas. Every dingo was regarded as a potential danger and had to be hunted.

A part of the dingo fence

In the 1920s the Dingo Fence was erected on the basis of the Wild dog act (1921) and, until 1931, thousands of miles of dogfences had been erected in several areas of South Australia. In the year 1946, these efforts were directed to a single goal and the Dingofence was finally completed. The fence connected with other fences in New South Wales and Queensland. The main responsibilities in maintaining the dogfence still lies with the landowners, whose properties border on the fence and get financial support from the government.

A reward system (local, as well from the government) was active from 1846 to the end of the 20th century, but there is no evidence that – despite the billions of dollars used – it was ever an efficient control method. Therefore, its importance declined over time.^[3]

Warning of poisonous sodium fluoroacetate baits

The eradication of dingoes due to livestock damage decreased along with the importance of the sheep industry and the usage of strychnine (which beforehand had been used for 100 years) in the 1970s. The number of doggers also decreased and the frequency of government approved aerial baiting increased. During this period, many farmers in Western Australia switched to the cattle industry, and findings in the area of biology led to a significant change in control measures and techniques in association with reduced costs and increased efficiency. At the same time, the importance of 1080 increased and the first anxieties arose that the number of dingoes might have decreased so much that they may become locally extinct. Increasing pressure from environmentalists, against the random killing of dingoes as well as due to the impact on other animals, demanded that more information needed to be gathered to prove the necessity of control measures and to disprove the claim of unnecessary killings. Observations on the ecology of dingoes led to the practice to place baits near water holes, hiding places and prey sites.

Today, permanent population control is regarded as necessary to reduce the impact of all wild dogs and to ensure the survival of the "pure" dingo in the wild.^[41]

Owners of dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes asked to spay or neuter their pets and keep them under observation to reduce the number of stray/feral dogs and prevent interbreeding with dingoes (for instance under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (2000)).^[41] The principle of caution is used at least in some control areas today, since dingoes are fully protected there, have cultural importance to the indigenous people and much data concerning the importance of dingoes and the impact of control measures on other species is missing. Historically, the attitudes and needs of indigenous people were not taken into account when dingoes were controlled. So called dingo conservation zones are regarded as a possible solution for this problem, and these zones would mainly be based on holy dingo sites and dreamtime-paths. Other factors that might be taken into account are the genetic status (degree of interbreeding) of dingoes in these areas, ownership and land usage, as well as a reduction of killing measures to areas outside of the zones. Land owners are increasingly committed to regularly record where individual dingoes and their tracks are most frequent and cause the most damage. Also, birth, damage and mortality rates of livestock should be recorded. However most control measures and the appropriate studies are there to minimise the loss of livestock and not to protect dingoes. In areas of cattle industries, there are few or no control measures, and efforts are mostly limited to occasional shootings and poisonings. Government controlled use of 1080 is performed only every third year, when field observations prove the claims of high livestock losses and dingo numbers.

Baits with 1080 are regarded as the fastest as safest method for dog control, since they are extremely susceptible: even small amounts of poison per dog are sufficient (0.3 mg per kg).^[41] The application of aerial baiting is regulated in the Commonwealth by the Civil Aviation Regulations (1988). The assumption that the Tiger Quoll might be damaged by the poison led to the dwindling of areas where aerial baiting could be performed. In areas where aerial baiting is no longer possible, it is necessary to put down baits. Where steel traps and baits cannot or are not allowed to be used (for example, residential zones), cage traps are used.

Dead wild dogs that have been hung on a fence

Apart from the introduction of 1080 (extensively used for 40 years and nicknamed "doggone"), the methods and strategies for decimating wild dogs have changed little over time. Strychnine is still used in all parts of Australia. Trapping and removal is an essential part of the control measures in the highlands of South-eastern New South Wales and Northern Victoria. It does occur that dingoes are hunted and shot by people on horseback or that a premium is sold for shot dingoes. One method, that does not have any proven effect, is to hang dead dogs along the borders of the property in the belief that this would repel wild dogs.^[9] To protect livestock, livestock guardian dogs (for example, Maremmas), donkeys, alpacas, and llamas are used.^[87][88] Over the last years cyanide-ejectors and protection collars (filled with 1080 on certain spots) have been tested^[89][90] To keep wild dogs away from certain areas, efforts are taken to make these areas unattractive for them (for example, by getting rid of food waste) and therefore forcing them to move elsewhere. Control through deliberately spreading disease is normally not considered. Such attempts probably would not be successful, because typical dog diseases are already present in the population. Additionally, dogs under human care would also be susceptible. Other biological control methods are not regarded as achievable, since there would be a high risk of decimating dogs under human care.

The efficiency of control measures was questioned in the past and is still often questioned today. It is also questioned whether they stand in a good cost-benefit ratio. The premium system proved to be susceptible to deception and to be useless on a large scale and can therefore only be used for getting rid of "problem-dogs".^[9][91] Animal traps are considered as inhumane and inefficient on a large scale, for example, due to the limited efficacy of baits. Based on studies, it is assumed that only young dogs that would have died anyway can be captured.^[46] Furthermore, wild dogs are capable of learning and sometimes are able to detect and avoid traps quite efficiently. In one case, a dingo bitch followed a dogger and triggered its traps one after another by carefully pushing her paw through the sand that covered the trap.^[74] Poisonous baits can be very effective when they are of good meat quality; however, they do not last long^[92] and are proven to be taken by Red Foxes, quolls, ants, and birds. Aerial baiting can nearly eliminate whole dingo populations.^[46] Livestock guardian dogs can effectively minimise livestock losses, but are less effective on wide open areas with widely distributed livestock. Furthermore they can be a danger to the livestock or be killed by control measures themselves when they are not sufficiently supervised by their owners.^[90] Fences are reliable in keeping wild dogs from entering certain areas, but they are expensive to build and need permanent maintenance. Further more they only cause the problem to be relocated.

According to studies, control measures can eliminate 66 to 84% of a wild living dog population, but the population can reach their old numbers very quickly over the course of a year and depending on the season, for instance by immigration of young dogs from other areas. If at all, only a cohesive coordinated control in all areas could be efficient in the long run.^[63] Control measures mostly result in smaller packs respectively in a disruption of the pack structure. Also the measures seem to be rather detrimental to the livestock industry because the empty territories are taken over by young dogs and the predation then increases. Nonetheless it is regarded as unlikely that the control measures could completely eradicate the dingo in Central Australia, and the elimination of all wild dogs is not considered as a realistic option.

Conservation [edit]

Dingoes are reasonably abundant in large parts of Australia, but there is some argument that they are endangered due to interbreeding with other dogs in many parts of their range.^[84] Dingoes are not protected, but rather a regulated species under federal law and their status varies under the law of the states and territories. Dingoes receive varying levels of protection in conservation areas such as national parks and natural reserves in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Victoria, Arnhem Land and other Aboriginal landsUNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. In some states dingoes are regarded as declared pests and landowners are allowed to control the local populations. Throughout Australia, all other wild dogs are considered pests.

Dingo with a tagged ear on Fraser Island

The dingoes of Fraser Island are considered to be of significant conservational value. Due to their geographic and genetic isolation, they are considered to be the most similar to the original dingoes are seen as the most pure dingo population. The dingoes there are not "threatened" by interbreeding with other domestic dogs. Because of their conservational value, outrage was sparked in January 2013 when two six-month-old dingo pups were found dead, believed to have been run over near Lake McKenzie.^[93] The couple who found the dingoes were outraged at the reaction of the rangers, and Fraser Coast area manager Ross Belcher has said that there will be serious penalties for those who kill or injure Fraser Island dingoes.^[94] In February 2013, a report on Fraser Island dingo management strategies was released, with options including ending the intimidation of dingoes, tagging practice changes, and regular veterinarian check-ups, as well as a permanent dingo sanctuary on the island.^[95]

Groups that have devoted themselves to the conservation of the "pure" dingo by using breeding programs include the Australian Native Dog Conservation Society and the Australian Dingo Conservation Association. Presently, The efforts of the dingo conservation groups are considered to be ineffective because most of their dogs are untested or known to be hybrids.^[3]

Dingo conservation efforts focus primarily on preventing interbreeding between dingoes and other domestic dogs in order to conserve the population of pure dingoes. This is extremely difficult and costly. Conservation efforts are hampered by the fact that it is not known how many pure dingoes still exist in Australia. Steps to conserve the pure dingo can only be effective when the identification of dingoes and other domestic dogs is absolutely reliable, especially in the case of living specimen. Additionally, conservation efforts are in conflict with control measures.

Conservation of pure and survivable dingo populations is regarded as promising in remote areas, where contact with humans and other domestic dogs is rare. Under NSW state policy in parks, reserves, and other areas not used by agriculture, these populations are only to be controlled when they pose a threat to the survival of other native species. The introduction of "dog-free" buffer zones around areas with pure dingoes is regarded as a realistic method to stop interbreeding. At the moment this is enforced in the way that all wild dogs can be killed outside of the conservation areas. However studies from the year 2007 indicate that even an intensive control of core areas is probably not able to stop the process of interbreeding.^[96]

At the present there is no information on what opinions the public holds regarding the conservation of dingoes. There is no unity on the definition of "pure" dingoes and how far they should be controlled.^[97]

As a pet and working dog [edit]

There is divided opinion on the topic of keeping dingoes as pets and working dogs. For some people, the dingo is not suitable for this,^[98] while for others it is no different than other domestic dogs. In this vein, dingoes would have the right to be recognised as a dog breed and that domestication would be the only reliable way to ensure the survival of the "pure" dingo.^[99]

A pet dingo

Dingoes can be very tame when they come in frequent contact with humans.^[22] Furthermore there were and are dingoes that live with humans (due to practical, as well as emotional reasons). It is known that many indigenous Australians and early European settlers already lived alongside dingoes. Alfred Brehm reported dingoes that were completely tame and, in some cases, behaved exactly like other domestic dogs (one was used for shepherding heavy livestock), as well as of specimens that remained wild and shy. He also reported of dingoes that were aggressive and completely uncontrollable, but was of the opinion that these reports "should not get more attention than they deserve", since the behaviour depends on how the dingo was raised since early puppyhood. He also believed that these dogs could become very decent pets.^[23]

A domestic dingo asleep on a couch

Domestic Dingo in California.

A dingo in Alice Springs

According to Eberhard Trumler, dingoes are very smart and affectionate. These characteristics were the reason why he never recommended anyone to own dingoes if they could not provide the dog an enclosure (not a kennel) that was big enough and escape-proof and a partner of the opposite sex. During heat, dingoes are harder to manage than other domestic dogs, which combined with their attachment to their owners leads to problems, since they want to follow their owners all the time and never miss the opportunity to feed. They are supposed to find every weak spot of an enclosure or residence, escape for a while and stray through towns and villages. Their intellectual ability is supposedly connected to an enormous ability to learn and a lightning perception, but stops at the slightest hint of pressure. They would be suitable as shepherd dogs, as they see a purpose in it (keeping together a familiar group would be in their nature) and even today, some dingoes are used as shepherd dogs. Similar to other domestic dogs they can be housebroken.

In 1976, the Australian Native Dog Training Society of NSW Ltd was founded, which was originally illegal because ownership of dingoes was forbidden. The dingo was officially recognised as Australia's national dog breed in mid-1994 by the Australian National Kennel Council, and a breed standard was published years later. It is listed in Group 4 (Hound) of the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC).^[100] However this does not legalise ownership in states where it is forbidden to own, breed or sell dingoes.^[13] Whether or not dingoes are allowed to be kept as pets differs from country to country, as well as between the states of Australia. For example, in South Australia dingoes can only be kept in specially authorised zoos, circuses and research institutions. Ownership, planned domestication or commercial usage of dingoes is considered unacceptable, since this would lead to the reintroduction of dingoes in sheep areas.

Dingoes are bred by certain clubs and private individuals in Australia and the USA. The dingo is not regarded as a dog breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. However the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA) regards the dingo as a breed belonging to the Spitz and Primitive Group.

Goals [edit]

Breeding programs are considered to be the best option to ensure the long-term existence of the dingo in its "pure" form (the reclassification of the dingo as a pet in New South Wales of the year 1998 was originally done to save the dingo from extinction), sometimes with the goal to later return them to the wild.^[98]

Apart from that, the breeding of dingoes is also there to produce dingoes that can be sold or used as working dogs. The first efforts to use dingoes at customs were done in 1976 in Victoria. However, some people speculated that these dogs were cross-breeds of dingoes and shepherd dogs.^[13]

Criticism [edit]

The ownership of dingoes as pets and their resulting breeding are criticised from many directions.

One point of criticism is that the activities and the resulting consequences of the dingo-conservation-groups, "dingo farms" and legislation for legal ownership of dingoes for people in public is supposed to be an additional threat to the survival of the pure dingoes. This fear exists because the majority of these breeding activities effectively expedite the interbreeding of dingoes and other domestic dogs, when the identification of a pure dingo is not absolutely correct respectively when hybrids are sold as "pure" dingoes.^[3]

Supporters of breeding programmes are only mildly optimistic about the success of this step to preserve the pure dingo. Success in the form of a population viable for future re-wilding is only to be accomplished with difficulty from the start.^[101] According to David Jenkins, the breeding and reintroduction of pure dingoes is no easy option and at the time there were no studies that seriously dealt with this topic, especially in areas where dingo populations are already present.^[102] An additional threat is that breeders may unconsciously select for tamer dingoes by breeding individuals who are easier to manage. Therefore it may happen that, over the years, the tame populations become less suitable for living in the wild than their ancestors. Also, a loss of genetic diversity (thus resulting in a higher susceptibility to diseases) might occur due to a small founding population and negative changes could occur simply because the dogs were captive-bred. Furthermore, some features that are necessary for survival in the wild might "fade" under the conditions of domestication (for example, hunting techniques) because they are no longer needed.^[103]

Another criticism is that adult dingoes are viewed by some to be not suitable as pets in the same ways as other domestic dogs. Dingoes are regarded as more independent minded than other domestic dogs and domestication is reportedly difficult. As dingoes age, they succumb to their natural instincts and become more likely to escape into the wild.^[98] Furthermore, most people are unable to provide a dingo with what it needs and dingoes would not react positively to domestication and training. Supposedly, only few dingoes and dingo-hybrids would reach an old age, since the owners would not know how to handle them. When a dingo is not socialised, it would be hard to control and develop behavioural problems from aspects of domestic life more easily tolerated by other dog breeds. To make dingoes more suitable as lapdogs, breeders would need to cross them with other domestic dogs.^[104]

Interbreeding with domestic dogs [edit]

Although dingo-like, this wild dog has an atypical colouration and is therefore most likely a dingo-crossbreed.

European domestic dogs first arrived in Australia during the European colonisation. These dogs reverted to the wild (both unintentionally and intentionally), produced feral populations and interbred with the dingoes. Hybrids of dingoes and other domestic dogs exist today in all populations of Australia, with their population being regarded as increasing to the point that completely "pure" populations may no longer exist.^[50] The degree of interbreeding is locally so high by now, for instance in urban and rural areas, that there are big populations consisting purely of hybrids. Estimates from the 90s already assumed a proportion of dingo-hybrids of about 78% in the wild.^[105] It is not clear how big the current population of hybrids is today.

Dingo-like domestic dogs and dingo-hybrids can be generally distinguished from "pure" dingoes by their fur-colour, since there is a wider range of colours and patterns among them than among dingoes. Furthermore, the more dog-typical kind of barking exists among the hybrids. Furthermore, differences in the breeding-cycle,^[106] certain skull-characteristics^[107] and genetic analyses^[108] can be used for differentiation. Despite all the characteristics that can be used for distinguishing between dingoes and other domestic dogs, there are two problems that should not be underestimated. At first there is no real clarity from what point a dog is regarded as a "pure" dingo,^[97] second no distinguishing feature is one-hundred per cent reliable and it is not sure which characteristics permanently remain under the conditions of natural selection.

In the scientific area, there are two main opinions regarding this process of interbreeding. The first, and likely most common position, states that the "pure" dingo should be preserved via strong controls of the wild dog populations, and only "pure" respectively nearly "pure" dingoes should be protected.^[109] The second position is relatively new and is of the opinion that people must accept that the dingo has changed and that it is not possible to bring the "pure" dingo back. Conservation of these dogs should therefore be based on where and how they live, as well as their cultural and ecological role, instead of concentrating on precise definitions or concerns about "genetic purity".^[110] Both positions are controversially discussed.

It is verifiable that there is a wider range of fur-colours, skull-shapes and body size in the modern day wild dog population than in the time before the arrival of the Europeans. Over the course of the last 40 years there has been an increase of the average wild dog body size of about 20%.^[111] Currently it is unknown whether, in the case of the disappearance of "pure" dingoes, remaining hybrids would alter the predation pressure on other animals. It is also unclear what kind of role these hybrids would play in the Australian ecosystems. However, it is regarded as likely that the dynamics of the various ecosystems will not be disturbed by this process.^[9]

Attacks on humans [edit]

Although Dingoes are large enough to be potentially dangerous, they generally avoid direct conflict with humans. Apart from one well known case in which an infant was lifted from a camp-site (see below), there have been numerous confirmed dingo attacks often involving people feeding wild dingoes, particularly on Fraser Island, a special center of dingo-related tourism. Most dingo attacks are minor in nature but they do occasionally result in hospitalisation or even death. Many Australian National Parks have signs advising visitors not to feed wildlife in part because this practice is not healthy for the animals, but also because it may encourage undesirable behaviour such as snatching or biting by dingoes, goannas and some birds.

Azaria Chamberlain dingo attack [edit]

On 17 August 1980, a nine-week-old girl named Azaria Chamberlain was taken by a dingo near Uluru (Ayers Rock) and killed.^[29] Her mother, Lindy Chamberlain, whose story of the attack was not believed, was suspected and wrongly convicted of murder, as the court did not believe that an animal as generally shy of humans would be capable of such an act. After serving more than three years of her sentence, Lindy was released from prison when the jacket of the baby was found in a dingo den and the mother was therefore found innocent, but the cause of death was not officially listed as a dingo attack until 12 June 2012.^{[112][113][114][115]}

Fraser Island [edit]

• On 30 April 2001, nine-year-old Clinton Cage was attacked and killed by two dingoes near Waddy Point on Fraser Island. The incident and the following culling of 31 dingoes caused much outcry among the residents. There were many protests and the suggestion was made to erect fences.^[116][117]
• On 26 April 2011, a three-year-old girl was attacked on Fraser Island by two dingoes, receiving serious puncture wounds to the leg.^[118]
• In November 2012, a six-month-old dingo called "Inky" was killed by rangers after twenty-five coded incidents, including "lunging" at a couple and their children, coming out of the bushland at high speed at volleyball players on the beach, and grabbing two tourists with his mouth on separate occasions.^[119] Prior to the death, rangers had been chasing the dingo, which they had deemed "dangerous", since September 2012.^[120] The death sparked outrage from elders.^[120] Cheryl Bryant from the Save the Fraser Island Dingoes group said that as a juvenile, some of Inky's "aggressive" behaviors were normal for his age.^[119] Soon after Inky was killed, his brother Byron was killed by rangers, though Byron never had as many or as dangerous infractions as his brother.^[121]

Conclusions [edit]

Authors who have studied and published dingo attacks blame habituation, especially intentional and unintentional feeding of dingoes. The more frequently these wild dogs are fed or scavenge human leftovers, the more likely it is that they lose all caution and sometimes react aggressively towards humans when they no longer receive or find food. It is assumed that dingoes might have started to regard "human" food sources (garbage cans, leftovers, handouts, and so forth) as part of their territory and that attacks on humans can therefore occur because the dingoes see humans as competition and want to protect their food sources.

Even when habituation to humans seems to be the general cause for attacks, it is not clear what the ultimate cause for attacks and overall threat towards humans is. It is theorized that some attacks might result from the "play" of young cubs, especially with children. Attacks can also be caused by mistaken reactions of humans to aggressive and dominance behaviour of dingoes. That some dingoes might regard humans as prey was also deemed possible as children or incapacitated adults could be theoretically overpowered.^[36][116] Dr. Bradley Smith said that Fraser Island has a problem with humans and not with the dingoes, and that dogs who were labelled "aggressive" were simply behaving naturally.^[122]

The behaviour of humans might undermine efforts to prepare against dingo-attacks; therefore the change of human behaviour is in the centre of attention. Warning signs like "Beware of Dingoes" seem to have lost their effect on Fraser Island, despite their high numbers. Furthermore, some humans do not realise how adaptive and quick dingoes are. Therefore they do not stay attentive enough and for instance do not consider that dingoes even steal food like fruits and vegetables. In addition some tourists seemed to be confused by the high numbers of rules in some parks and have been prompted in some cases to actively feed the wild animals.^{[36][41][116][117]}

Problems in classification [edit]

Borneo-dogs, which look very similar to Australian dingoes

There is no general agreement, scientifically or otherwise, on what the dingo is in a biological sense, since it has been called "wolf", "dingo", "dog" and "wild dog".^[77] Even within the scientific community the dingo is given several names. In addition, there is no consensus on whether it is a feral or native animal or what kinds of dogs should be classed as dingoes. Thus some people consider the New Guinea Singing Dog, the Basenji, the Carolina Dog^[50] and other dog-populations to be dingoes. Evidence indicates a discord concerning the status of these dogs also. Dingoes have been variously considered to be wild dogs,^[29] the progenitor of domestic dogs,^[50] the ancestor of modern dog breeds, a separate species,^[123] a link between wolf and domestic dog,^[50] a primitive canine-species^[124] or primitive domestic dog,^[3] a "dog-like" relative of wolves^[125] or a subspecies of the domestic dog.^[126] Others consider them to be native dogs of Asia,^[127] a relatively unchanged form of early domestic dog,^[9] part wolf and part dog^[128] or to have been selectively bred from wolves.^[87] Then again, others do not consider them feral any more but completely wild, since they have been living under natural selection for a very long time.^[129] According to present scientific consensus and knowledge, they are domestic dogs that arrived at their present distribution with humans, adapted to the respective conditions and are no more "primitive" or "primordial" than other domestic dogs.^[130]

Carolina dogs; some of these dogs bear a great similarity to dingoes.

The Australian dingo has never been subject to the artificial selection that produced modern dog breeds^[76] and that the Australian dingo is an undomesticated descendent of an extinct Asian wolf.^[131] However, compared to the European grey wolf, dingoes have an approximately 30% lower relative brain size,^[132] reduced facial expressions^[133] reduced impressive behaviour,^[22] curled tails that can be carried over the back and generally a permanent fertility in males; features that all known domestic dogs share and that are considered to be caused by domestication.^[17][22] It might happen that one and the same source names the dingo as a subspecies of the grey wolf but lists all other domestic dogs as a separate species.^[134] Likewise, the scientific name of the dingo might be stated to be Canis lupus dingo, but the dingo regarded as a separate species nonetheless.^[135] Alfred Brehm originally considered the dingo to be a separate species, but after examining several different specimens came to the conclusion that they could only be domestic dogs.^[23] In contrast, William Jardine considered the dingo to be an entirely separate species, while contemporary French naturalists regarded them as feral dogs.^[136] Even among modern day scientists dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes considered two separate species, despite proven small genetic, morphological and behavioural differences. The phenomenon of interbreeding between both is then attributed to the statement that all wolf-like species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.^[19] However, breeding experiments in Germany could only prove an unrestricted fertility in the offspring of domestic dogs and grey wolves. Hybrids between domestic dogs and coyotes, respectively domestic dogs and Golden Jackals, had communication problems^{[clarification needed]} among each other, as well to the parent species. From the third hybrid-generation on, a decrease in fertility and an increase in genetic damage^{[clarification needed]} was observed among the coyote-hybrids and jackal-hybrids.^[130] Observations of this kind have never been made for hybrids of dingoes and other domestic dogs, only that dingoes and other domestic dogs can freely interbreed with each other.^[137]

The choice of classification can have a direct impact on the dingo. Dingoes officially cease to exist outside of national parks and become unprotected wild dogs.^[77] This term itself sometimes only includes dingoes and their hybrids^[138] respectively excludes dingoes.^[139] Another change of name is that dingoes are "only" feral outside of national parks, with this term having a more negative meaning than the term "wild".

On the other hand, dingoes have been "rehabilitated" in some way, by changing their status from pests to "Australia's native dog" or more subtly, from a subspecies of the domestic dog to that of the grey wolf. The undertone in the Australian press seemed to be that being a grey wolf or an Asian wolf means that the dingo is more "wild" and therefore more desirable than a companion animal (domestic dog). It is possible that the habit of calling the dingo only dog (not wild dog) in colloquial language indicates a kind of familiarity or debasing. In the last case it might be morally easier to kill a dog when it causes problems because it would not have the "high status" of a wolf or dingo.^[77] Sometimes, it is considered to be bad that dingoes are domestic dogs, as well as being descended from them and not "directly" from the grey wolf.^[140] If the dingo is regarded as native, then it is worthy of protection. But if it is considered to be "just" a variant of the domestic dog, it is regarded as a pest and should be eradicated.^[26][64]

References [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• J.S. Bacon: The Australian Dingo: The King of the Bush. McCarron Bird, Melbourne 1955.
• R. Breckwoldt: A Very Elegant Animal: the Dingo. Angus and Robertson, Australia 1988.
• Lawrence K. Corbett: The Dingo in Australia and Asia. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1995, ISBN 0-8014-8264-X.
• Deborah Bird Rose: Dingo makes us Human, Life and Land in an Aboriginal Australian culture. Cambridge University Press, New York, Oakleigh 1992, ISBN 0-521-39269-1.
• Chris R. Dickman: A Symposium on the Dingo. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney 1999, ISBN 0-9586085-2-0.
• Erich Kolig: Aboriginal dogmatics: canines in theory, myth and dogma. In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 134. Nr. 1, Leiden 1978, Seite 84–115.
• Kate Lawrance and Karen Higginbottom: Behavioural Responses of Dingos to Tourist on Fraser Island. In: Wildlife Tourism Research Report Series. Nr. 27, 2002.
• Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Michael Hoffmann, David W. Macdonald (editors): Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, 2004.
• E. Beckmann and Gillian Savage: Evaluation of Dingo Education Strategy and Programs for Fraser Island and Literature review: Communicating to the public about potentially dangerous wildlife in natural settings^{[dead link]}. Environmetrics in conjunction with Beckmann and Associates, Commissioned by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Juni 2003.
• Peter Fleming, Laurie Corbett, Robert Harden, Peter Thomson: Managing the Impacts of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Commonwealth of Australia, 2001.
• Western Australian Wild Dog Management Strategy 2005. August 2005.
• Georgette Leah Burns, Peter Howard: When wildlife tourism goes wrong: a case study of stakeholder and management issues regarding dingoes on Fraser Island. Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University.

The New Guinea singing dog (also known as the New Guinea dingo, Hallstrom dog, bush dingo, New Guinea wild dog, and singer) is a wild dog once found throughout New Guinea. New Guinea singing dogs are named for their unique vocalization. Little is known about New Guinea singing dogs in their native habitat. There are no confirmed photographs of wild singing dogs.^{[citation needed]} Current genetic research indicates that the ancestors of New Guinea dingoes were probably taken overland through present day China to New Guinea by travelers during pre-Neolithic times.^[3]

Captive-bred New Guinea dingoes serve as companion dogs. Part of conservation efforts focus attention on their intelligence and physical abilities.

History and classification

A singing dog after a bone

The first singing dog was taken from New Guinea in 1897.^{[citation needed]} At that time many naturalists killed their specimens and studied them later. Such was the case with the first New Guinea dingo, which was shot and killed by Sir William MacGregor on Mount Scratchley at an elevation of 2,133 metres (6,998 ft).^{[citation needed]}

MacGregor sent both the skin and the skeleton, preserved in alcohol, to the Queensland Museum. He described the dog as 11.5 in (29 cm) at the shoulder and primarily black in colour. White markings trimmed the neck, the throat, chest and tip of the tail. In 1911 C.W. DeVis assembled and studied MacGregor's specimen, along with Professor Wood Jones, followed by H.A. Longman in 1928. From 1897 until 1954, this single specimen comprised the scientific community's entire body of knowledge regarding the New Guinea singing dog.

In 1956, Albert Speer and J.P. Sinclair obtained a pair of singing dogs in the Lavanni Valley. The dogs were sent to Sir Edward Hallstrom who had set up a native animal study center in Nondugi, and then on to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.^[4]

There has been considerable controversy regarding the taxonomic classification of New Guinea dingoes. In 1958, Ellis Troughton examined the two Singer specimens from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.^[5] Subsequently, the New Guinea singing dog was classified as a distinct species and was named Canis hallstromi (in honor of Sir Edward Hallstrom). Singing dogs have been reclassified several times and have variously been called Canis lupus hallstromi or Canis familiaris hallstromi. They have been classed as variants of the dingo or domestic dog. They have been called Canis dingo and Canis dingo hallstromi.^[6] Most authors class the New Guinea singing dog either as either a separate species or a domestic dog.

The NGSD is not genetically or ecologically exchangeable with any other canid population, and the NGSD is an evolutionarily significant unit.^[7] Mammal Species of the World lists these dogs as part of Canis lupus dingo, provisionally separate from Canis lupus familiaris.^[8]

Laurie Corbett, in his book The Dingo in Australia and in Asia (1995), concluded that dingoes were Canis lupus dingo, and as such, are descended from the Grey Wolf.

Dr. Alan Wilton and his co-researchers^[9] have proven Singers are genetically matched to Australian dingoes.

Physical description

Build

Night picture with noticeable green eyeshine off the Tapetum lucidum

Compared to other species in its genus, the New Guinea singing dog is described as relatively short-legged and broad-headed. These dogs have an average shoulder height of 31–46 centimetres (12–18 in) and weigh 9–14 kilograms (20–31 lb). They do not have rear dewclaws.^[7]

The limbs and spine of Singers are very flexible, and they can spread their legs sideways to 90°, comparable to the Norwegian Lundehund. They can also rotate their front and hind paws more than domestic dogs, which enables them to climb trees with thick bark or branches that can be reached from the ground; however their climbing skills do not reach the same level as those of the gray fox.^[10]

The eyes, which are highly reflective, are almond-shaped and are angled upwards from the inner to outer corners with dark eye rims. Eye color ranges from dark amber to dark-brown. Their eyes exhibit a bright green glow when lights are shone in at them in low light conditions. Researchers believe there are two reasons for the bright reflective glow; not only do the pupils open wider and allow in more light than in other dog breeds, there is also a higher concentration of cells in the tapetum. These two features allow singing dogs to see more clearly in low light, a trait which is unusual in canids.^{[citation needed]}

Black and tan-colored singing dog

New Guinea singing dogs have erect, pointed, fur-lined ears. As with other wild dogs, the 'ears' perk or lay forward, which is suspected to be an important survival features for the species. The ears can be rotated like a directional receiver to pick up faint sounds. Singer tails should be bushy, long enough to reach the hock, free of kinks, and have a white tip.

Fur

Pups are born with a dark chocolate brown pelt with gold flecks and reddish tinges, which changes to light brown by the age of six weeks. Adult coloration occurs around four months of age. For adult dogs, the colors brown, black and tan have been reported, all with white points. The sides of the neck and zonal stripes behind the scapula are golden. Black and very dark guard hair is generally lightly allocated over the hair of the spine, concentrating on the back of the ears and the surface of the tail over the white tip. The muzzle is always black on young dogs. Generally, all colors have white markings underneath the chin, on the paws, chest and tail tip. About one third also have white markings on the muzzle, face and neck. By 7 years, the black muzzle begins to turn gray.^[7]

Behavior

Singing dogs "scent rub" to mark their territory.

Flannery’s short 1988 report on dogs in the mountains of Papua New Guinea is regarded as the only available report on direct observation of wild specimens. He described them as "extraordinarily shy" and "almost preternaturally canny".^[11] According to Robert Bino (a student from the University of Papua New Guinea) these dogs use their resting places under roots and ledges in New Guinea only sporadically. Bino theorized that these dogs are highly mobile and forage alone and concluded that they therefore might use several hiding places in their home range.^[12]

During research observations, the examined dogs generally showed a lower threshold of behavior (e.g. scent rolling) than other domestic dogs, as well as an earlier developmental onset than other domestic dogs or grey wolves (e.g. hackle biting at 2 weeks compared to other domestic dogs/grey wolves at 6 weeks) and a quantitative difference (e.g. reduced expression of intraspecific affiliate behaviors). The dogs observed did not show the typical canid play bow; however, Imke Voth found this behavior during examinations in the 1980s.^[13]

Several unique behaviors have been exhibited by New Guinea singing dogs.^[7]:

• Head toss: This behavior, shown by every observed dog, is a prompt for attention, food or a sign of frustration, expressed in varying degrees depending on the level of arousal. In the complete expression, the head is swept to one side, nose rotated through a 90° arc to midline, then rapidly returned to the starting position. The entire sequence takes 1–2 seconds. The mildest expression is a slight flick of the head to the side and back. During this behavior, the characteristic contrasting black and white chin markings are displayed.
• Copulatory scream: At the copulatory tie, the female emits a repetitive sequence of loud, high-pitched yelps lasting about 3 minutes. This scream has a strong arousal effect on most domestic dogs.
• Copulatory contractions: About 3 minutes after the start of the tie, females begin a series of rhythmic abdominal contractions. During each contraction, the skin of the flanks and lumbar area is drawn forward. These contractions are accompanied by groans and occur regularly, several seconds apart (they may pause intermittently), continuing for the length of the tie.
• Additionally, Singers have an unusual form of auto-erotic stimulation, which includes a strong tendency to target the genitals for both playful and aggressive bites, a cheek-rub that may be a marking behavior and a tooth-gnashing threat.

During estrus, when potential partners are present, same-sex Singers often fight to the point of severe injury. Furthermore, adults also display a high degree of aggression towards unfamiliar dogs, which would indicate that they are strongly territorial.^[7] Their distinctive aggression could not be observed to that extent among Australian dingoes (who live without human contact).^[14]

Based on dogs in captivity, it has been theorized^[who?] that wild singing dogs do not form permanent packs. All sightings in the wild were of single dogs or pairs^[7] and, according to observations by Imke Voth in the 1980s, some dogs are more comfortable in pairs and others in small groups.^[14] Researchers have noted rough play behavior by the mothers towards their pups, which often switched over to agonistic behavior, as well as "handling". The mothers did not adequately react to the pup's shouts of pain but rather interpreted it as further "invitation" for "playing". The researchers stated that this behavior was noted in their subjects only and does not necessarily apply to all Singers.^[14]

Vocalizations

Singers have a distinctive "song".

New Guinea singing dogs are named for their distinctive and melodious howl, which is characterized by a sharp increase in pitch at the start and very high frequencies at the end.^[15] According to observations made by Ortolani,^[16] the howling of these dogs can be clearly differentiated from that of Australian dingoes, and differs significantly from that of grey wolves and coyotes.

An individual howl lasts an average of 3 seconds, but can last as long as 5 seconds. At the start, the frequency rises and stabilizes for the rest of the howling, but normally shows abrupt changes in frequency. Modulations can change quickly every 300–500 milliseconds or every second. Five to eight overtones can generally be distinguished in a spectrographic analysis of the howling.^[7]

New Guinea singing dogs sometimes howl together, which is commonly referred to as chorus howling. During chorus howling, one dog starts and others join in shortly afterward. In most cases, chorus howling is well synchronized, and the howls of the group end nearly simultaneously. Spontaneous howling is most common during the morning and evening hours.^[14] A trill, with a distinctly "bird-like" character, is emitted during high arousal. It is a high-frequency pulsed signal whose spectral appearance suggests a continuous source that is periodically interrupted, and might last as long as 800 milliseconds. Such a sound is not known for any other canid; however, a similar sound (with lower frequency) has been described for a dhole at the Moscow Zoo.^[7] When they are kept with dogs that bark, Singers may mimic the other dogs.^[14]

Reproduction

Male New Guinea singing dog puppy born in Autumn of 2010

Like other dingo types, female Singers come into heat once a year rather than twice a year normally associated with domestic breeds. Their breeding season generally starts in August and ends during December. Gestation averages 63 days. In Tierpark Berlin, 80% of the litters were born in October and November and the gestation period was 58 to 64 days. The litter size was 1 to 6 pups.^[17] Reports of 25 female singers in captivity showed that when they did not conceive during their first annual estrus, about 65% have a second estrus cycle, sometimes even a third,^[2] 8–16 weeks later.^[7]

Males in captivity often participate in raising the pups, including the regurgitation of food. Female Singers are protective of their young and will aggressively attack their male counterpart if they feel he poses a danger to the puppies. During the first breeding season following their birth, especially if there is a potential mate present, pups are often aggressively attacked by the same-sex parent.^[7]

Diet

Reports from local sources in Papua New Guinea from the 1970s and the mid-1990s indicate that Singer-like wild dogs found in New Guinea, whether they were pure Singers or hybrids, fed on small to middle-sized marsupials, rodents, birds and fruits. Robert Bino stated that they their prey consisted of cuscuses, wallabies, dwarf cassowaries and other birds.^[2][7] Singers in captivity do not require a specialized diet but they seem to thrive on lean raw meat diets based on poultry, beef, elk, deer, or bison.^[18]

Distribution

The reported habitat of the New Guinea singing dog consists of mountains and swampy mountain regions of Papua New Guinea at an altitude of 2500 to 4700 meters. The main vegetation zones are the mixed forest, beech and mossy forest, sub-alpine coniferous forest and alpine grassland. Based on archaeological, ethnographic, and circumstantial evidence, it can be assumed that Singers were once distributed over the whole of New Guinea and later restricted to the upper mountains.^[7] Since there have been no verified sightings of these dogs in Papua New Guinea since the 1970s, these dogs are either rare, or possibly extinct.^[15] There were reports of Singers in the Star Mountains until 1976, and in 1989, Tim Flannery was able to take a picture of a black-and-tan dog in a Dokfuma.^[11] It is important to note that although Flannery made sightings of dogs, there was no way for him to verify them as pure or hybrid or that they were, in fact NGSD at all. In his 1998 book "Throwim Way Leg", Flannery states that Dokfuma (which he describes as subalpine grassland with the ground being sodden moss, lichens and herbs growing atop a swamp) at 3,200 meters elevation had plenty of singing dogs which could usually be heard at the beginning and end of each day. It is also important to note that the word "plenty" is a subjective term with meaning based on personal opinion with no scientific evidence provided. No count was taken in any scientific manner and no DNA testing has been conducted in order to verify purity. When alone in his campsite one day a group of canines came within several hundred meters of him. Flannery apparently did not have his camera along or ready since he reported no pictures taken. In 1996 Robert Bino undertook a field study of these dogs, but was not able to observe any wild Singers and instead used signs such as scats, paw prints, urine markings and prey remnants to make conclusions about their behavior. No DNA sampling was conducted. There have been reports from local residents that wild dogs have been seen or heard in higher reaches of the mountains.^[10] A more recent sighting was the fleeting glimpse of a dog at Lake Tawa in the Kaijende Highlands. Local assistants assured the researchers that the dogs at Lake Tawa were wild-living dogs since there were no villages near that location. It needs to be made clear, however, that "wild-living" does not necessarily mean that canines observed by natives are NGSD. It is possible that they are simply feral domestic dogs or NGSD hybrids.^[19]

Relationship with humans

Singer being trained for rare breed show competition

Dr. Alan Wilton, a geneticist and senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia, has theorized that all of the singing dogs of New Guinea as well as the dingoes in Australia may have sprung from a single pregnant female. Over thousands of years the New Guinea dingoes spread throughout the whole of the island. In highland areas the dogs occasionally kept company with native humans, but more often they lived independently without masters. In the lowland villages they were more apt to take up residence with the many native villagers who inhabited the area. It is from these lowland tribes that we may gain a true understanding of the singing dog's place in among humans. The onset of European culture with their domesticated dogs spelled the beginning of the end for pure New Guinea singing dogs in the lowlands. "Singing Dogs are very gentle and friendly with people, though inclined to be a bit shy with strangers at first," wrote New York owner Phillip Persky. "They are not at all aggressive with people" Sharon McKenzie said. "I've never heard of a case of a Singing Dog biting anyone." "They are notorious escape artists," Mr. Persky reported, "and can climb and jump with cat-like agility, so enclosures have to be secure." They are great diggers and can climb fences as easily as a squirrel. They can get through a space you would not have thought a snake could get through," Sharon laughed. "This is the only breed I know of in which bitches are dominant," Sharon observed. "Bitches really call the shots."^[4]

According to reports from the late 1950s and mid-1970s wild dogs believed to be Singers were shy and avoided contact with humans. It was reported in the mid-1970s that the Kalam in the highlands of Papua caught young Singers and raised them as hunting aids but did not breed them. Some of these dogs probably stayed with the Kalam and reproduced. The Eipo tribe kept and bred wild dogs as playmates for their children. Although the majority of the Highland tribes never used village dogs as a food source, it is known that even today they attempt to catch, kill and eat wild dogs. Some local myths mention these dogs as bringers of fire and speech or as the spirits of the deceased. Dog-findings in archaeological sites of New Guinea are rare, mostly consisting of teeth (used as ornaments) and trophy-skulls. One grave has been discovered. The earliest Singer remains was a tooth found in the lowlands. It was estimated to be about 5,500 years old. Findings from the highlands were thought to be of similar age, on a stratigraphical basis, but as of 2001 had not been dated. Since the beginning of the 20th century the inhabitants of the highlands started to keep chickens and Singers had a penchant for poultry. To add to the problem, natives kept other domestic dogs. The crossbred dogs were generally larger in size as well as less of a challenge to train so they tended to be of more value than singing dogs. One might conclude that the relationship between the contemporary New Guineans and their dogs will give information about how they treated the Singers, but modern "Village Dogs" are not genetically representative of pure New Guinea singing dogs.^[2][7][10]

Origin and taxonomic status

New Guinea singing dog descended from the original pair that came to the U.S. in 1961.^{[citation needed]} He lived for over 20 years.

For these dogs an origin in Indonesia or South-East Asia is likely; however, the exact location and date is unknown. Genetic analyses also indicate towards an origin in East Asia.^[20] These dogs were most likely brought to Papua New Guinea by humans; the dogs could not have covered the distance between the islands by swimming, since even at lowest sea level the distance would have been too great. Findings indicate that there were dogs about 5,500 years ago, which at least looked similar to the Singers.^[7]

As stated earlier there is controversy regarding the origin of New Guinea dingoes. Singers may have been transported to New Guinea as a tamed wild animal to serve as a hunting aid or as human food.^[7] There is no proof for domestication and they do not show the characteristic morphological features of domestication. Singers may have developed blood enzymes specific to the breed after arriving in New Guinea or they may have inherited them from a different ancestor than those of modern domestic dogs. While interbreeding between Singers and other domestic dogs has occurred, this does not support their being the same species, since all members of the genus Canis are capable of producing fertile hybrids. Genetically and ecologically the New Guinea singing dog is not replaceable with any other canid-population and the available data indicates that the New Guinea singing dog demonstrates a unique evolutionary entity, possible a sister-taxon of the Australian dingo. Since the Singer has diagnostic characteristics that differentiate it from other members of the genus Canis, the name Canis hallstromi is used to identify it as a distinguishable taxonomic entity inside the genus Canis. Although these hypothoses are based on captive Singers, it is assumed that the described, regarded as unique, characteristics probably could not have developed during captivity. It is further suspected that these dogs would be an example on how dogs looked in the time before domestication and that their keeping by the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea would not fully match the common concept of domestication.^[7] In addition the ecological balance between the Singers and their prey is regarded as evidence that these dogs were not domesticated when they arrived on the island. As a further argument against the status of the Singer as a feral domestic dog, Koler-Matznick states that there exist no reports of demographically self-sustaining feral dog populations that are not at least partially dependent on humans. Even in the absence of other large predators, domestic dogs never become totally independent predators.^[2]

Kristofer M. Helgen disagreed. He said that these dogs are biologically interesting and deserve further ecological study, but neither molecular nor morphological evidence support the claim for taxonomic status as a separate species, particularly in the light of the morphological plasticity of the domesticated dog.^[19]

Genetic status

An 11-month-old female singing dog

During genetic analysis regarding the origin of the Australian dingo, the scientists found the mtDNA-type A29 among Australian dingoes, as well as domestic dogs from the islands of South-East Asia, North America, East Asia and New Guinea Singings Dogs. This mtDNA-type fell in a phylogenetic tree of wolf-and dog-types right in the main clade of domestic dog mtDNA-types (70% of the mtDNA-types). Furthermore the Singers had a unique mtDNA-type that differed from A29 by two point mutations: This showed the real possibility of a shared origin with Australian dingoes, as well as a genetic exchange and affiliation with the domestic dog. Are the dingoes of Australia descended from New Guinea singing dogs or the other way around? Since Papua New Guinea and Australia were connected via a land-bridge until 6,000 years ago, traveling from one to the other would have been possible.^[20] Further DNA-analysis may show that Thai dingoes are also closely related to New Guinea singing dogs. It has been theorized that Singers and Australian dingoes might demonstrate a genetic line that separated itself from other dogs about 4,600 to 10,800 years ago. As long as nothing contrary was proven, a person has to assume that the current isolation of NGSD from village dogs makes interbreeding/hybridization unlikely.^[2]

The most current genetic research was completed by Australian scientist Dr. Alan Wilton from the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences. In all, there were thirty-seven researchers from around the globe who took part in data collection and analysis. News of the study was released to newspapers on 18 March 2010. Research revolved around analysis of 48,000 genome sites found in hundreds of wolves and over a thousand dogs. The overwhelming conclusions showed that genetically, the Australian dingo and the New Guinea singing dog are closely related to each other. In fact, they are so closely related that the Australian dingo database may be used to ascertain purity in singing dog DNA sampling. Additionally, the study concluded that New Guinea singing dog and Australian dingo DNA is unique from all other canidae and is easily identified. They found Australian dingoes and New Guinea singing dogs to be the oldest of the ancient breeds, dating back at least 4,000 years. Singers belong in the Asian group, sharing it with dingo, Chinese Shar-pei, Chow-chow and Akita.^[21] This internationally recognized study collated at American universities UCLA and Cornell was published in the science journal Nature.^{[22][23][24][25]}

There was a time when the New Guinea singing dog was not considered worthy of study, since they were considered feral domestic dogs. Nowadays however, archaeozoologists who promote protection of these dogs argue that Singers are a living relic of the earliest dogs and at least a part of the heritage of the people of Papua New Guinea. The Singer is regarded as being worthy of protection, since the captive population is highly inbred and the wild population is probably excluded from several parts of its original distribution area.^[7] The Department of Environment and Conservation in New Guinea has announced protection measures.^[15]

The importance of the New Guinea dingo lies in its evolutionary age and purity as an evolutionary unit. These facts together with several unique genetic, behavioral, ecological, reproductive and morphological characteristics form the basis for its conservation.^[7]

Conservation and preservation

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

There are two organizations that exist for the sole purpose of conserving and preserving New Guinea singing dogs. The organizations, New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society (NGSDCS) and New Guinea Singing Dog International (NGSDI) are both based in the United States.

Hybridization is one of the most serious threats facing the New Guinea dingo. NGD are handicapped, as are many canids such as the Australian dingo, by their susceptibility to being bred by canines other than those of their own kind. This vulnerability has and is still causing a "watering down " of dingo genes needed to maintain purity.

See also

• True Wild Dogs

References

The taxon Canis lupus dingo is named for its most famous and original member, the Australian Dingo, but it also includes non-Australian animals such as the New Guinea Singing Dog, the Thai Dog, and other animals which are considered taxonomically identical to the Australian Dingo, so any differences would be at the level of "variety," "landrace", or "breed". The name indicates that, like the familiar common dog, Canis lupus familiaris, it is one of many subspecies of Canis lupus, the Gray Wolf. While current taxonomy lists it as "provisionally separate" from C. l. familiaris, the current taxonomy notes that it is legitimate to view the two as united into one subspecies, the "domestic dog", while admitting that this "stretches the subspecies concept."^[3][4]

Origin

Dingoes may have evolved in the northern areas of Thailand and Vietnam between five and six thousand years ago from south Asian wolves quite similar to the Indian Wolf and the Arabian Wolf. The early evolutionary process was one of domestication; a process which has both biological and anthropological elements. Wild wolves and human cultures evolved a commensal relationship in which each derived benefits from learning to tolerate or interact with each other, a process that transformed the physical features and instincts of those populations of wolves living around human settlements from wolf into dingoes, generally considered to be a subspecies of Canis lupus intermediate between wolf and dog.^[5]

Taxonomic synonyms

Current taxonomy identifies nine taxonomic synonyms for the term Canis lupus dingo, the majority of which referred to the Australian Dingo but several of which refer to animals found in Southern and Southeast Asia.

"harappensis", an ancient dingo found in South Asia

During excavation seasons in 1924-25 and 1930-31, a team of researchers at Harappa, in modern Pakistan, collected a wide variety of ancient domestic animal remains which had been buried since three thousand years BC. The remains included a dog which the researcher who wrote the report named the Canis tenggeranas harappensis, noting "marked skull affinities to the Indian Wolf" and hypothesized to be the ancestor of the Indian Greyhound.^[6] Since that time, however, mammalogists reviewing the evidence have concluded that it is taxonomically identical to the Australian Yellow Dingo and have therefore grouped it together with the Australian Dingo into the taxon Canis lupus dingo.

"tenggerana", the dingoes of Java

In the late nineteenth century, experts working in the Tennger Mountains in Eastern Java identified a dog living there which they named "Canis familiaris tenggerana". They observed the dogs living alongside the natives in a semi-domesticated state.^[7] Since that time, Canis familiaris tenggerana has been identified and reclassified as C. l. dingo.

"papuensis"

In a report to the Linnean Society of New South Wales in 1882, N. De Miklouho-Maclay identified several anatomical and behavioural differences between Australian Dingoes and dogs that inhabited the coastal lowlands(Maclay Coast) of Papua New Guinea. He gave the Papuan coastal canines the scientific name Canis papuensis. The differences between Canis dingo and Canis papuensis included a much smaller brain, which he attributed to the quite different lifestyles of the two animals. There were several differences in overall looks and build. In fact, the dogs he dubbed Papuan Dogs or New Guinea Dogs bore little resemblance to the canines commonly known as New Guinea Singing Dogs. Whereas the Australian Dingo is well known for its intelligence and boldness, as well as near independence from humans, he reported that the coastal Papuan canines remained on the periphery of native villages, regularly feeding on cast-offs and human waste. Hunting on their own was almost unknown. Instead of the bold independence of the Australian Dingo, the coastal dogs behaved very subserviently toward humans, exhibiting begging and grovelling. Additionally, he stated, "The Canis papuensis is very different in appearance and character from Canis dingo; is generally smaller, has not the bushy tail of the dingo...." Since New Guinea Singing Dogs or New Guinea Dingoes were not mentioned in his report, it is unknown whether Miklouho-Maclay was even aware of their existence. His report was only concerned with canines he observed along the Maclay Coast.^[8]

"hallstromi" New Guinea Singing Dogs

Other Dingoes

Dingoes without recognized taxonomic synonyms have also been identified.

Dingoes of Peninsular Southeast Asia

Pure Asian dingoes live freely in many areas of Southeast Asia.

The most common variety is the "Thai Dog", sometimes called the "Thai Dingo", which are also found in neighboring countries. They tend to be somewhat smaller than Australian Dingoes, and live and behave less like wild animals. Although many are kept as pets or working dogs, the majority roam freely and subsist by begging and scavenging from humans. Many Thai people believe that as Buddhists they gain merit by leaving food out for the free-roaming "neighborhood dogs" in the streets. Consequently, Thailand has a large population of wild dogs and also many of the attendant problems having such a population entails, such as periodic rabies epidemics.

Extensive morphological and genetic testing has supported the observations of Australian Dingo experts that Thai Dogs are taxonomically identical to the Dingoes in Australia. However there are a few noticeable differences. Black and ginger color variations, rare in Australia, are common in Thailand and Thai Dogs tend to have shorter hair. Their behavior is also substantially different; they live among and alongside people as urban free-ranging dogs. As such, they are viewed as unexceptional mongrel dogs, and not, as in Australia, as wild animals distinctly different from true dogs. In some sub-cultures in the region they are commonly looked to as a source of dogmeat and eaten as a delicacy; in the wider community they are more likely to be kept as guard dogs, used as hunting dogs, or carefully bred into specific breeds such as the Thai Ridgeback.

Other noted varieties of Canis lupus dingo include:

• ' Phu Quoc ridgeback dog' (Cho Phú Quốc) is a short haired primitive breed of dog with hair whorls on their backs. Phu Quoc Dogs and Thai Dogs differ from one another in several ways. Nonetheless, the Phu Quoc ridgeback dog is considered a progenitor of the Thai Ridgeback. Pure Phu Quoc ridgeback dogs still exist on the mainland of Thailand. The Phu Quoc ridgeback dog was discovered on the island of Phu Quoc (which it is named after), an island located off the west coast of Vietnam and the Vietnamese territory. It is believed that Phu Quoc Dogs were originally transported to the islands from the mainland by Thai fishermen. The Phu Quoc ridgeback dog is considered one of the three rarest canines and is in dire need of field research and wild population conservation efforts.^[9] Systematic breeding of the captive population on the island has had a positive affect on island tourism.^[10] For more information see the main article "Phu Quoc ridgeback dog"

The "dingoes" of Bali

Experts report that Bali Street Dogs and a breed of dog developed from them, the Kintamani dog, are genetically closer to Australian Dingos than they are to any of the many other breeds and landraces that they were compared to in the study.^[11] The physical similarity to Australian Dingoes is more clearly obvious in the case of the relatively uniform Kinatami dogs than in the wide physical diversity seen among the street dogs, which are noted for their distrust of humans, even when taken in as puppies.

"Dingoes" of Eastern Asia

Some experts have provided evidence that native breeds and landraces of dogs of Japan, such as the Akita Inu and Shiba Inu, share a close common origin with Australian Dingoes. ^[12]

The American Dingo

Several experts have provided evidence that shows some native North American dogs should be classified as Canis lupus dingo. Prominent among these canines is the "Carolina Dog", also known as "Yellow Dogs" or "Yaller Dogs", and formally recognized by the American Kennel Club as the "Carolina Dog". Formerly common and widespread in the United States, American Dingoes continue to survive living independently in isolated forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Although increasingly many show signs of admixture with non-native breeds, the physical and genetic isolation from non-native breeds and closeness to the Australian Dingo can still be observed, especially now that they have been kept pure by captive breeding.^[13]

References

1. ^ Corbett, L.K. (2008). "Canis lupus ssp. dingo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41585. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
2. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 575–577. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000751.
3. ^ "Mammal Species of the World - Browse: lupus". Bucknell.edu. http://www.bucknell.edu/MSW3/browse.asp?id=14000738. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
4. ^ "Mammal Species of the World - Browse: dingo". Bucknell.edu. http://www.bucknell.edu/MSW3/browse.asp?id=14000751. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
5. ^ Corbett, Laurie The Dingo in Australia and in Asia 1995, Cornell University Press, pp. 9-11
6. ^ "Full text of "An annotated bibliography on the origin and descent of domestic mammals, 1900-1955"". Archive.org. http://www.archive.org/stream/annotatedbibliog541angr/annotatedbibliog541angr_djvu.txt. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
7. ^ Page 206
8. ^ Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 6. Linnean Society of New South Wales. p. 626. 1882. 
9. ^ VIETNAMNET, Ha Noi, Viet nam. "VietNamNet - Saving the Phu Quoc dog from extinction". English.vietnamnet.vn. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/07/723728/. Retrieved 2010-08-10.^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Corbett, Laurie The Dingo in Australia and Asia
11. ^ "The Kintamani Dog: Genetic Profile of an Emerging Breed from Bali, Indonesia - Puja et al. 96 (7): 854 - Journal of Heredity". Jhered.oxfordjournals.org. 2005-07-13. doi:10.1093/jhered/esi067. http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/96/7/854. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
12. ^ Holger Funk. "Shiba and Dingo". Shiba-dog.de. http://www.shiba-dog.de/dingo-en.htm#gemeinsam. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
13. ^ Weidensaul, Scott (1999-03-01). "Tracking America’s First Dogs". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2006-10-11.