The Dingo

Unfairly judged?

"On the evidence, juries have always convicted the dingo, but it is a largely circumstantial case," Dr Stephen Wroe

It is hard to define whether the Dingo is a native or introduced species. Unlike the marsupials, it didn't evolve on the Australian continent - being introduced between 3,000 and 10,000 years ago. But since its introduction, the Australian continent has shaped the Dingo so that it it unlike any other canine around the world.

Curiously, its behaviour has evolved to more closely resemble that of the Tasmanian Tiger, the marsupial wolf that it is said to have eliminated from mainland Australia. Although the Dingo sometimes hunts in pairs or small family groups, like the Tiger, Dingos are not by nature a pack dog. Perhaps the solitary life has reduced its need to communicate for like the Tiger, it can't bark. Like the Tiger, when hunting alone, it relies on endurance to wear down its prey.

Considering its evolutions have taken it closer to the Tiger, and the Tiger had 4 million years to adapt to the Australian environment, it is somewhat of a mystery as to how it managed to eliminate the Tiger in such a short period of time. As a reproducer, because the Tiger was a marsupial, it was better adapted to the cyclic nature of Australian droughts. If there was a fight over food, the Tiger would win. Early colonist had noted the Tiger's ferocity to dogs and its ability to quickly kill them.

But although the Tiger may have been stronger than the Dingo, more capable of recovering from drought and perhaps a superior hunter, the Dingo's symbolic relationship with the Aborigines gave it a huge comparative advantage. Together, Aborigines and Dingo became a super-predator that the Tiger just couldn't compete with. (See Tasmanian Tiger.)

As well as causing the mainland extinction of the Tiger, the Dingo is also thought to be responsible for the mainland extinction of the Tasmanian Devil. But such a theory seems flawed when one considers that even though Tasmanian Devils now have wild dogs to contend with, its population numbers are estimated to be greater than prior to European colonisation. Furthermore, a 10kg devil can exert a biting pressure of a dog twice the size of a Dingo. These jaws would have made any Dingo wary about an attack.

Perhaps then, just as it has been unfairly judged for causing the extinction of the Devil, the Dingo may also be unfairly judged for causing the extinction of the Tiger.

The Dingo itself is now also facing extinction, not from a predator or competition but from being bred out of existence. As more and more pet dogs are escaping to the wild, the Dingo's purity is progressively being diluted.

Dingo and Thylacine comparison

Icon

Although the Dingo does not feature on the Australian currency, on any state emblems or as the moniker of any major sporting teams, a high profile court case gave evidence of its latent popularity. On August 17, 1980, Lindy Chamberlain, the wife of a Church minister, told authorities that a Dingo took her baby Azaria from their campsite near Uluru.

Curiously, the Australian public was more inclined to place faith in the character of a wild dog than in a minister's wife. Popular t-shirts of the time displayed the slogan "the Dingo is innocent."

Ms Chamberlain was initially convicted of murder but some years later her conviction was quashed. Even so, some Australians are adamant that the Dingo was not guilty.

Industry

1) Breeding - In many areas of Australia the Dingo is still considered vermin and cannot legally be kept. A few states treat the Dingo like any other dog and they can be sold as pets.

As a pet, the Dingo requires more maintenance than a normal dog. Obedience training is a necessity but harsh corrective measures will result in undesirable traits.

Eliminating the call of the wild also seems an impossibility. Unlike a dog which can be trained to feel a tie to an area that it will defend, the Dingo, if it gets the chance, will escape to go walkabout.

2) Eradication - A lucrative industry exists for shooting, trapping or baiting the Dingos that threaten livestock.

3) Maintenance of the Dingo Fence - A huge fence has been constructed to prevent Dingos from entering pasture. In Queensland it stretches for 2500km, in New South Wales for 584km and in South Australia for 2225km. In all, it is well over twice the length of the Great Wall of China. Maintenance of the Dingo Fence costs around $1 million a year.