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Articles on Dingoes

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An example of a typical dingo. Photograph depicts a male from K’gari-Fraser Island (Queensland). John Williams

The dingo is a true-blue, native Australian species

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

We can ‘rewild’ swathes of Australia by focusing on what makes it unique

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

How Australia made poisoning animals normal

As soon as white colonists began farming sheep in Australia, they looked for a way to eradicate dingoes.
The dingo, Australia’s largest mammalian carnivore, has a broad diet that varies across the continent. Judy Dunlop

Dingo dinners: what’s on the menu for Australia’s top predator?

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.
Dingoes are usually solitary, but can forage in groups near human settlements where food is abundant. Klaasmer/Wikimedia Commons

Why do dingoes attack people, and how can we prevent it?

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.
A watercolour of a dingo, pre-1793, from John Hunter’s drawing books. By permission of The Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, London.

Living blanket, water diviner, wild pet: a cultural history of the dingo

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

Thinking big gives top predators the competitive edge

Dingoes and wolves can help control destructive smaller predators, new research shows, but only if we encourage them across wide areas.
Australia has a complex relationship with the dingo. Angus Emmott

Why do some graziers want to retain, not kill, dingoes?

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.

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