Management practices that don’t consider the history, ecology and social circumstances of dingo populations help drive their aggression towards people.
Feral cats are linked to the extinction of at least 20 Australian mammals.
Shutterstock
Of all Australia’s wildlife, one stands out as having an identity crisis: the dingo. New research has found the dingo is its own species, distinct from ‘wild dogs’.
Eastern quolls have been introduced in Booderee Nation Park as part of a rewilding project.
Oisin Sweeney
Rewilding is gaining popularity around the world, as a means to restore ecosystems to their ancient state. But just like Vegemite, Australian rewilding projects need to have a unique flavour.
Colonial graziers found it more effective to poison dingoes than rely on convict shepherds to protect their flocks.
Justine Philip/AMMRIC 2017
A survey of 32,000 samples of dingo droppings and stomach contents reveal that this predator’s appetite is as wide-ranging as Australia’s landscapes. But medium and large mammals are top of the menu.
A wild dingo from the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia.
Bradley Smith
The WA government has announced plans to reclassify dingoes as no different to wild dogs - paving the way for them to be culled at will. But dingoes are unique and deserve to be recognised as such.
Dingoes are usually solitary, but can forage in groups near human settlements where food is abundant.
Klaasmer/Wikimedia Commons
An attack on a WA mine worker has highlighted the danger of wild dingoes, particularly when attracted by humans’ food - one of the factors that can make an attack by wild predators much more likely.
Kangaroos probably don’t enjoy social media photos as much as we do.
Flickr
Here’s some advice on taking selfies with wild animals: don’t. It’s not fun for the animal, and can have serious knock-on effects for their health. And you could be injured (or worse).
Whoosa vicious helpful predator? You are! Yes you are!
Sean Riley/Flickr
In Indigenous culture, dingoes were prized as companions, garments and hunting aids. Europeans later tried to tame dingoes as ‘pets’ but their wild nature has prevailed.
Dingoes can help manage devastating red fox and feral cat numbers, but only if we let enough of them live in key areas.
Bobby Tamayo
Australian farmers and graziers have historically been against dingoes on their lands. But in a bid to adapt to changing conditions, some are embracing the predators and their potential.
Dingoes are often promoted as a solution to Australia’s species conservation problems.
Dingo image from www.shutterstock.com
All dingoes are ginger, right? Nope. They don’t bark? Wrong again. And they’re ultimately just wild dogs? Well, that’s trickier, but for conservation purposes the answer is still basically no.
Dingoes play an important role in our ecosystems.
Angus Emmott
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University