Your grey wolf is over rated. Our dingoes go fishing dammit.
The Dingo!
Okay, so even as an Aussie I don't actually know a whole lot about our own brand of wild dog. I know that they are considered by some to be their own species rather than just another kind of dog, and that they have a shitty reputation as baby eaters. So yeah.
Dingoes do NOT have a great reputation, all thanks to this one news story.
Regardless though you still find videos like this,
Which I quite enjoy. It's nice to see some Aussie animals getting some good light rather than the usual "Don't go to Aus their animals will kill you" type of shit.
Basic Information.
Stereotypically dingoes are depicted as being an orangey colour with white feet, and that's just how people seem to think all dingoes look.
Untrue.
This is just five variations of what dingoes can look like. They all have the same body shape, some have thicker fur than others, and their colours all depend on where that particular dingo is found.
For example the darker coats are typically found in the foresty areas and the more white/sandy coloured ones in the more outback, brush/desert areas.
Dingoes will eat practically anything, they will take down sick and injured kangaroos (probably why roos hate dogs and will drown them when they can) eat wallabies, rabbits, livestock when food is scarce and even fish and sharks and dolphins that wash up on the beach!
Dingoes only breed once a year and typically put out four to six pups per litter.
Conservation Status.
Threatened in Victoria.
What this means is that on a national level, nobody is really concerned about dingoes, however in the state of Victoria, they are approaching a concerningly low population number. This is due to people and people only. The typical reasons, destruction of natural habitats, culling from farmers due to the dingoes tendency to attack livestock when food is low.
Stupid shit.
A Dingo Stole My Baby!
(feel free to skip this, this is just to explain the earlier 'baby eating' statement)
"In August 1980, the Chamberlain family were camping near Uluru in the Northern Territory. On the night of August 17 Lindy and Michael Chamberlain reported that their nine week old daughter Azaria had been taken from their tent by a dingo. Azaria’s body was never found. Lindy Chamberlain was subsequently tried for murder and spent more than three years in prison. She was released in 1986 when a piece of baby’s clothing was found near a dingo lair in the area, and new inquests were opened. In 2012 the Chamberlain’s version of events was officially confirmed by a coroner.
Looking at the situation in its entirety, the Dingo is a wild predator with a natural game drive to catch food. Just like a Lion in Africa or a Tiger in Asia, the Dingo is Australia’s apex terrestrial predator, and its only means of survival is to catch and consume prey. Human or animal, a wild predator simply sees a food source. This is not an act of ferocity or malice, and
an animal should not be demonised for hunting. It is simply performing its natural role to survive, just as humans have traditionally hunted and fished for food.
Unfortunately for the Dingo, it looks similar to the domestic dog, and people do not give the Dingo the same level of respect that they may give a lion or tiger. Injuries tend to occur when humans approach Dingoes in the wild, or in areas where dingoes have been regularly fed by humans.
Sources have confirmed that Northern Territory tourism operators regularly encouraged Dingoes to enter into coaches and buses to receive a food from passengers during the 1980s. With this information in hand, we can certainly understand why a Dingo may have approached the Chamberland’s campsite in search of food. It is a case of people unintentionally creating dangerous situations for all involved."
Source - https://www.dingoden.net/stole-my-baby.html
I know there isn't a whole lot of information here, but I didn't want to make the take too long and honestly, the dingo is a canine, a lot of the information I could have put out would have simply been only slightly altered from what most people already know about most canines.
Let me know if you enjoyed reading, and if you do I will consider makiing more of these to do with other Aussie animals!
I want to steer clear from typical Aussie animals though, so I won't talk about the kangaroo or emu or platypus, I want to try to spread some information about our lesser known animals.
(yes I know the dingo isn't a lesser known animal but it isn't nearly as in the limelight as it could be)
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