| Name: | | | | extinction to be inevitable. |
| | | | |
| Dingo | | | | Physical Description: |
| | | | |
| Scientific Name: | | | | The dingo weighs between 22 and 53 pounds |
| | | | roughly, being usually smaller the wolves of |
| Canis lupus dingo | | | | the northern hemisphere. It stands at about |
| | | | 17 - 25 inches at the shoulder, and measures |
| Status: | | | | approximately 34 - 48 inches long. Although |
| | | | fur coloring differs slightly, dingoes are |
| Vulnerable | | | | usually ginger in color. It has a lean |
| | | | muscular build with erect ears. Although the |
| Scientific Classification: | | | | dingo does not generally occur in packs (more |
| | | | often existing in pairs or small family |
| Kingdom: Animalia | | | | groups), it is capable of forming larger |
| | | | groups to hunt. |
| Phylum: Chordata | | | | |
| | | | Diet: |
| Class: Mammalia | | | | |
| | | | Dingoes predate on a variety of animals. Most |
| Order: Carnivora | | | | of its prey species are small or medium in |
| | | | size, including lizards and rodents. However, |
| Family: Canidae | | | | the dingo will also take larger prey, |
| | | | including sheep and kangaroos. The dingo is |
| Genus: Canis | | | | opportunistic, and in addition to hunting is |
| | | | also known to eat fruits and plants and |
| Species: C. lupus | | | | scavenge from humans. |
| | | | |
| Subspecies: C. l. dingo | | | | Habitat: |
| | | | |
| General Information: | | | | Modern dingoes are distributed primarily in |
| | | | small pockets of forests in Southeast Asia |
| The dingo is a wild dog of Southeast Asia and | | | | and in many portions of Australia. In |
| Australia. It is commonly known as the | | | | Australia, it occurs mostly in the north. The |
| Australian wild dog. The dingo is believed to | | | | "Great Dingo Fence" was begun in the 1880s, |
| have originated in Asia and brought to | | | | and meant to keep dingoes out of the |
| Australia by Austronesian traders some 3,000 | | | | relatively fertile southeast of Australia and |
| years ago. They flourished upon introduction, | | | | to protect sheep. Although it has managed to |
| and quickly spread out across Australia, | | | | stem the dingo from existing in larger |
| quite possibly with human assistance. Within | | | | numbers, some dingoes can still be found in |
| a short period of time the dingo had occupied | | | | the southern portions of the continent today. |
| the entire continent and became a dominant | | | | |
| predator, likely contributing to the | | | | Reproduction: |
| extinction of marsupial carnivores such as | | | | |
| the Thylacine. In recent generations, the | | | | Dingoes breed once per year, generally |
| dingo has become seen as a pest species, and | | | | between March and June. Pups are born after |
| many measures, including an extensive fence, | | | | about 63 days, and litter sizes range from 4 |
| have been made to stem its encroachment on | | | | to 6 offspring. The young may be left on |
| human property/welfare. Also, because of its | | | | their own after only a few months, or they |
| inbreeding with dogs introduced by European | | | | may stay with their parents for up to a year |
| settlers, the dingo gene pool is also | | | | before independence. Males reach sexual |
| considered to be increasingly "polluted". | | | | maturity by the age of one, and females |
| Thus, its present-day status is considered | | | | become capable of breeding at about the same |
| "Vulnerable", with some believing its | | | | age. |