Skip to main content

Dingo

Dingoes
Today is the 5th birthday of my parents' dog. Not bad for a little guy who almost died of an auto-immune disorder a few years ago. Did you know dogs can have blood transfusions? Well, you do now!

Anyway, we have no idea what that dog is. He's medium sized and orange with a weird husky-like tail. We've just always called him a Dingo. So today, for his birthday, we're going to learn about the actual Dingoes of Australia.

The subspecies Canis lupus dingo actually refers to more than just Australian Dingoes. New Guinea Singing Dogs, Thai Dogs, along with a handful of other types are also classified under that subspecies. But today let's stick to just the Dingoes.

Dingoes first arrived in Australia from Asia around 4,000 years ago. Because there was still a significant amount of water to cross to get there, it is believed that the original Aborigines brought the semi-domesticated dogs with them. Once they arrived on the continent, the dogs spread quickly. Fossils have been found throughout Australia that date back 3,500 years. Dingoes were first described by science in 1699, when they lived both with Aboriginal populations, and as wild packs.

Dingoes sometimes live as solitary animals, and sometimes in small packs of around 10 members. They are very opportunistic, and will feed on both plants and animals. The population greatly expanded once European Settlers arrived with their livestock, as the dogs now had a massive new food source.

Dingo Pups
Because they prey so readily on sheep, Dingoes are considered a nuisance in many areas. There have even been fences erected to keep the dogs away. They also get a lot of blame for damaging Australia's native animal populations. Some believe that the Dingo is partly responsible for the extinction of the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Wolf, since they competed for food and space.

Dingoes are both persecuted protected, depending on the location. Genetically pure Dingoes are becoming very rare, since they will interbreed with domestic dogs, and efforts are being made to keep the pure Dingoes and the hybrids separate. Dingoes are also occasionally kept as pets, though I wouldn't recommend it.
IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : Australia
Size : Height up to 2ft (60cm), Weight up to 44lbs (20kg)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Canidae -- Genus : Canis -- Species : C. lupus -- Subspecies : C. l. dingo
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2012 at 12:42 PM

    You probably have a shiba - they look just like dingos but with a husky tail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LaurenSeptember 13, 2012 at 12:46 PM

      Might be some Shiba in there, but he's more than twice the size haha.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more