Dingo

Canis lupus dingo

The dingo is found scattered throughout Southeast Asia and they are the primary mammalian carnivore in Australia, particularly in the north. The name dingo comes from the language of the Eora Aboriginal people, the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.

Although dingoes are mostly seen alone, most of them belong to packs which come together once every few days to socialize or mate. As with wolves, the pack has a dominant pair and usually only that pair breeds, while the other members of the pack helps with the raising of the puppies. Dominant females will kill the young of other females in the pack.

Dingoes do not bark as much as domestic dogs. They howl more frequently, in order to attract distant pack members and repel intruders. These carnivores eat rats, kangaroos, birds, rabbits, lizards, and some farm animals. They swallow meat in large chunks.

The dingo is not considered endangered, but as a result of interbreeding with domestic dogs, the purebred dingo is in decline.

The above picture was taken near Melbourne, Australia, in January 2003.

Genus Canis
Family Canidae
Superfamily Canoidea
Order Carnivora
Subclass Eutheria
Class Mammalia
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index