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The dingo was thought to have originally come to Australia with the Aborigines some 30-40,000 years ago but recent research is casting doubt on this theory.
Apparently no dingo remains have been found that are older than about 4,000 years and this suggests that they arrived much later than was previously thought.
The dingo is regarded as a pest species by farmers and they are shot, trapped and poisoned in most areas.
The dingo is a cunning animal and it is very unlikely that attempts to destroy the species will succeed. With the introduction of domesticated dogs came inevitable cross breeding and now there are few, if any, pure bred dingo left in the wild. Scientists believe that 80% of modern day dingos are now hybrids. The pure bred dingo could be extinct within the next 50 years.
Dingos do not bark like ordinary dogs but they howl (somewhat like wolves do) to communicate.
Dingos are not usually a threat to humans but there have been some fatalities of children and there was one historic account of a pack of dingos threatening a lone cyclist in the goldfields.
It must be remembered at all times that they are wild animals and they should never be approached.
Anyone travelling to South East Asia (and Thailand in particular) will note domesticated dogs there that are very similar in appearance to the dingo.
Prior to interbreeding with domestic dogs, dingos were all genetically very similar. Studies conducted across the country found that all pure bred dingos were only 1 mutation away from the main type. All dingos probably descended from a very small original number and may have even come from the litter of a single female.
I video taped this young dingo near The Governor (a hill in the Pilbara). It really is an awful shame that these wonderful animals are killed for the sake of profits. |
