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