Dingo | Facts & Information

Other names: Australian Dingo, Australian Native Dog, Maliki, Warrigal, Noggum, Mirigung, Boolomo, Dingo dog

The Dingo is a wild quadruped that is believed to be native to Australia. Indeed, it is found in this country, but it is native to Southeast Asia. The breed is also known as Canis familiaris dingo or Canis Dingo.

The name of the breed comes from the language of the Eora Aborigines, those who were the first inhabitants of the region in the area of Sydney.

The Dingo dog has as ancestors Wolves (Canis lupus), which were tamed to some extent by humans and later released into the wild.

It is a medium-sized animal that does not bark. It has straight ears, the tail covered with coarse hairs, being, as a rule, reddish; some quadrupeds have a black tail with white and reddish spots, and others have it completely white.

Most dogs of this breed live in Australia and Thailand, but they can also be found in Myanmar (Burma), southern China, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines and New Guinea.

The fossil record shows that the breed was introduced to Australia about 3500-4000 years ago and that it spread throughout the Australian continent, but also in the islands, except Tasmania.

Other scientists believe that four-legged dingoes were brought to Australia about 5,000 years ago, long before the arrival of the first settlers (50,000 years ago). They believe that dingoes were originally domesticated animals, a hypothesis that was easily disproved.

The fact is that quadrupeds have had an important ecological impact, causing the extinction of several animal species, including the marsupial Wolf and the tasmanian Devil.

Dingo Food

The Dingo dog does not have a great sprint, but it can travel long distances. Depending on the abundance of food, they hunt alone (small mammals) or in packs (Kangaroos, elk, cattle, camels).

In addition, it feeds on birds, reptiles, insects and even fruits.

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Dingo Appearance

The quadruped has characteristics found in domestic dogs, but also qualities reminiscent of the Wolf.

The dimensions of the Dingo dog are average, it has a height of 48-58 centimeters and weighs around 22-32 kilograms.

Larger sizes are found in males, females are usually smaller. The eyes are very interesting, because they can have shades of yellow, orange and are very expressive.

The ears are small and straight and are always arched, unlike some breeds of dogs, which have them left.

The coat is usually reddish, with a rough tail, which can be both red and white or black with white and reddish spots, but we meet dogs that can have fur in shades of cream, with white spots or even black with brown spots.

Dingo Behavior

Unlike others, the Dingo dog lives very well alone and cannot train. It is a very intelligent dog that has some special features, such as the ability to turn its head 180 degrees both ways.

They also have the ability to use their paws in an exceptional way, even being able to open a door, thanks to the bottom part of their paws, which can rotate. The way they live is very interesting, they can live both isolated from each other, and in groups of 3 to 12 specimens.

Most are part of a pack only during mating and breeding. For those who live in groups, there is a leader, who has the most important role and only his couple can perpetuate the species, the others in the group are not allowed, and if they do, the born cubs will be killed as young.

It has no enemies, only the weakest of them constitute prey for Eagles or snakes.

In general, the life span of dingoes reaches 10 years, but nevertheless it happens that some do not live that long due to the importance of their fur, being often hunted for fur.

Another factor that determines their disappearance is that they interact a lot with humans, through proximity to their homes, and with domestic dogs, there are today dogs that are not entirely wild, but a combination of wild and domestic.

Unfortunately, the wildness of dingoes was demonstrated by a controversial case in Australia in 1980, in which a woman was accused of killing her own 9-month-old daughter and jailed.

To defend herself, the woman claimed that the little girl was eaten by these dogs, a fact that could be proved by the presence of a piece of the little girl's clothes, 8 years later, near the home of such a dog.

This was not the only situation of this kind, there are other testimonies in which children were killed by these animals.

Due to the intelligence and beauty of the Dingo dog, it is hard to imagine that such an animal, with such an innocent look, could cause such cruelty, but, above all, as a prey animal, it is an extremely interesting one that will arouse the fascination of many animal lovers.

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Dingo Breeding

The bitch can make 8 puppies at a single task, which she brings into the world in caves or secluded places.

Puppies are breastfed for two months and remain with their parents for a long time.

Like wolves, the Dingo breeds only once in a year.