View source for Dingo

{{Short description|Canid species native to Australia}}
{{About|the Australian dingo}}
{{Redirect|Warrigal|the plant known as Warrigal in Australia|Tetragonia tetragonioides}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Holocene]] (3,450 years [[Before Present|BP]] – recent)<ref name=greig2016/><ref name=jackson2015/>
| image = Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) Kakadu 2.jpg
| image_caption = [[Kakadu National Park]] [[Northern Territory|NT]]
| genus = Canis
| species = familiaris
| authority = [[Friedrich Albrecht Anton Meyer|Meyer]], 1793<ref name=meyer1793/>
| synonyms = ''Canis familiaris'' Linnaeus, 1758<ref name=jackson2015/><br />''Canis familiaris dingo'' Meyer, 1793<ref name=blumenbach1799/>
| range_map = Dingo-Distribution-Fleming.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution of the dingo: dingoes south of the [[dingo fence]] (black line) may have a higher prevalence of hybridisation
}}
[[File:Canis lupus dingo, Fraser Island.jpg|thumb|Dingo on the beach at [[Fraser Island|K'gari]], Queensland]]

The '''dingo''' (either included in the [[species]] '''''Canis familiaris''''', or considered one of the following independent [[taxa]]: '''''Canis familiaris dingo''''', '''''Canis dingo''''', or '''''[[Canis lupus dingo]]''''') is an ancient ([[basal (phylogenetics)|basal]]) lineage of [[dog]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=Stephen M. |last2=Fleming |first2=Peter J.S. |last3=Eldridge |first3=Mark D.B. |last4=Archer |first4=Michael |last5=Ingleby |first5=Sandy |last6=Johnson |first6=Rebecca N. |last7=Helgen |first7=Kristofer M. |date=2021-10-28 |title=Taxonomy of the Dingo: It's an ancient dog |url=https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article/41/3/347/450006/Taxonomy-of-the-Dingo-It-s-an-ancient-dog |journal=Australian Zoologist |language=en |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=347–357 |doi=10.7882/AZ.2020.049 |issn=0067-2238|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> found in [[Australia]]. Its [[taxonomy|taxonomic]] classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of [[domestic dog]] not warranting recognition as a [[subspecies]], a subspecies of dog or [[wolf]], or a full species in its own right.

The dingo is a medium-sized [[Canis|canine]] that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the [[New Guinea singing dog]]: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] to Asia. The oldest remains of dingoes in Australia are around 3,500 years old.

A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year.

== Etymology ==
[[File:George Stubbs, A portrait of a large Dog from New Holland (Dingo), 1772.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of a Large Dog]] from [[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]]'' by [[George Stubbs]], 1772. [[National Maritime Museum, Greenwich]].]]

The name "dingo" comes from the [[Dharug language]] used by the [[Indigenous Australian]]s of the [[Sydney]] area.<ref name=simpson2008/> 
The first British colonists to arrive in Australia in 1788 established a settlement at [[Port Jackson]] and noted "dingoes" living with Indigenous Australians.<ref name=tench1789/> The name was first recorded in 1789 by [[Watkin Tench]] in his ''[[Journals of the First Fleet#Watkin Tench|Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay]]'':

{{Blockquote|The only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called Dingo, and a good deal resembles the fox dog of England. These animals are equally shy of us, and attached to the natives. One of them is now in the possession of the Governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master.<ref name=tench1789/>}}

Related Dharug words include "ting-ko" meaning "bitch", and "tun-go-wo-re-gal" meaning "large dog".<ref name=simpson2008/> The dingo has different names in different [[indigenous Australian languages]], such as ''boolomo'', ''dwer-da'', ''joogoong'', ''kal'', ''kurpany'', ''maliki'', ''mirigung'', ''noggum'', ''papa-inura'', and ''wantibirri''.<ref name=corbett2004/> Some authors propose that a difference existed between camp dingoes and wild dingoes as they had different names among indigenous tribes.<ref name=ryan1964/> The people of the [[Yarralin, Northern Territory]], region frequently call those dingoes that live with them ''walaku'', and those that live in the wilderness ''ngurakin''.<ref name=roseC10/> They also use the name ''walaku'' to refer to both dingoes and dogs.<ref name=roseC6/> The colonial settlers of New South Wales wrote using the name dingo only for camp dogs.<ref name=walters1995/> It is proposed that in New South Wales the camp dingoes only became wild after the colonial destruction of Aboriginal society.<ref name=jackson2015/>

==Taxonomy==
{{Further|Canis lupus dingo#Taxonomic debate – the domestic dog, the dingo, and New Guinea Singing Dog}}
[[File:Dog of New South Wales.jpg|thumb|"Dog of New South Wales" illustrated in ''The Voyage of [[Arthur Phillip|Governor Phillip]] to [[Botany Bay]]'' in 1788<ref name=mazell1789/>]]

Dogs associated with indigenous people were first recorded by [[Jan Carstenszoon]] in the [[Cape York Peninsula]] area in 1623.<ref name=ireland1947/> In 1699, Captain [[William Dampier]] visited the coast of what is now [[Western Australia]] and recorded that "my men saw two or three beasts like hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, being nothing but skin and bones".<ref name=dampier1699/> In 1788, the [[First Fleet]] arrived in Botany Bay under the command of Australia's first colonial governor, [[Arthur Phillip]], who took ownership of a dingo<ref name=tench1789/> and in his journal made a brief description with an illustration of the "Dog of New South Wales".<ref name=mazell1789/> In 1793, based on Phillip's brief description and illustration, the "Dog of New South Wales" was classified by [[Friedrich Albrecht Anton Meyer|Friedrich Meyer]] as ''Canis dingo''.<ref name=meyer1793/>

In 1999, a study of the maternal lineage through the use of [[mitochondrial DNA]] (mDNA) as a [[genetic marker]] indicates that the dingo and New Guinea singing dog developed at a time when human populations were more isolated from each other.<ref name=wayne1999/> In the third edition of ''[[Mammal Species of the World]],'' published in 2005, the mammalogist [[W. Christopher Wozencraft]] listed under the wolf ''Canis lupus'' its wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: "''familiaris'' Linnaeus, 1758 [domestic dog]" and "''dingo'' Meyer, 1793 [domestic dog]". Wozencraft included ''hallstromi''—the New Guinea singing dog—as a [[taxonomic synonym]] for the dingo. He referred to the mDNA study as one of the guides in forming his decision.<ref name=wozencraft2005/> The inclusion of ''familiaris'' and ''dingo'' under a "domestic dog" clade has been noted by other mammalogists,<ref name=jackson2017/> and their classification under the wolf debated.<ref name=smithC1/>

In 2019, a workshop hosted by the [[IUCN]]/SSC Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral dogs (''Canis familiaris''), which therefore should not be assessed for the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name=IUCN_CSG/>

In 2020, the [[American Society of Mammalogists]] considered the dingo a synonym of the domestic dog.<ref>{{BioRef|asm|id=1005940|title=''Canis familiaris'' |version=1.5 |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref> Recent [[DNA sequencing]] of a 'pure' wild dingo from South Australia suggests that the dingo has a different [[DNA methylation]] pattern to the German Shepherd.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Field |first1=Matt A. |last2=Yadav |first2=Sonu |last3=Dudchenko |first3=Olga |last4=Esvaran |first4=Meera |last5=Rosen |first5=Benjamin D. |last6=Skvortsova |first6=Ksenia |last7=Edwards |first7=Richard J. |last8=Keilwagen |first8=Jens |last9=Cochran |first9=Blake J. |last10=Manandhar |first10=Bikash |last11=Bustamante |first11=Sonia |date=2022-04-22 |title=The Australian dingo is an early offshoot of modern breed dogs |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=8 |issue=16 |pages=eabm5944 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abm5944 |pmid=35452284 |pmc=9032958 |bibcode=2022SciA....8M5944F |issn=2375-2548}}</ref> In 2024, a study found that the Dingo and New Guinea singing dog show 5.5% genome introgression from the ancestor of the recently extinct [[Japanese wolf]], with Japanese dogs showing 4% genome introgression. This introgression occurred before the ancestor of the Japanese wolf arrived in Japan.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Japanese wolves are most closely related to dogs and share DNA with East Eurasian dogs|last1=Gojobori|first1=J|journal=Nature Communications|date=February 2024|volume=15 |issue=1 |page=1680 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-46124-y|pmid=38396028 |pmc=10891106 |bibcode=2024NatCo..15.1680G }}</ref>

===Domestic status===
The dingo is regarded as a [[feral]] dog because it descended from domesticated ancestors.<ref name=greig2016/><ref name=jackson2017/> The dingo's relationship with Indigenous Australians is one of [[commensalism]], in which two organisms live in close association, but do not depend on each other for survival. They both hunt and sleep together. The dingo is, therefore, comfortable enough around humans to associate with them, but is still capable of living independently.<ref name=pierotti2017/> Any free-ranging, unowned dog can be socialised to become an owned dog, as some dingoes do when they join human families.<ref name=miklosi2015/> Although the dingo exists in the wild,<ref name=smithC3/> it associates with humans, but has not been [[Selective breeding|selectively bred]] unlike other [[Domestication|domesticated]] animals.<ref name=jackson2015/><ref name=smithC3/> Therefore, its status as a domestic animal is not clear.<ref name=jackson2015/> Whether the dingo was a wild or domesticated species was not clarified from Meyer's original description, which translated from the German language reads:

<blockquote>It is not known if it is the only dog species in New South Wales, and if it can also still be found in the wild state; however, so far it appears to have lost little of its wild condition; moreover, no divergent varieties have been discovered.<ref name=meyer1793/></blockquote>

===History===
The earliest known dingo remains, found in Western Australia, date to 3,450 years ago.<ref name="greig2016" /><ref name="jackson2015" /><ref name="smithC3" /> Based on a comparison of modern dingoes with these early remains, dingo morphology has not changed over these thousands of years. This suggests that no artificial selection has been applied over this period and that the dingo represents an early form of dog.<ref name="smithC3" /> They have lived, bred, and undergone natural selection in the wild, isolated from other dogs until the arrival of European settlers, resulting in a unique breed.<ref name="clutton2015" /><ref name="crowther2014" />

In 2020, an mDNA study of ancient dog remains from the [[Yellow River]] and [[Yangtze River]] basins of southern China showed that most of the ancient dogs fell within haplogroup A1b, as do the Australian dingoes and the pre-colonial dogs of the Pacific, but in low frequency in China today. The specimen from the [[Hemudu culture|Tianluoshan archaeological site]], [[Zhejiang]] province dates to 7,000&nbsp;YBP ([[years before present]]) and is [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] to the entire haplogroup A1b lineage. The dogs belonging to this haplogroup were once widely distributed in southern China, then dispersed through Southeast Asia into New Guinea and Oceania, but were replaced in China by dogs of other lineages 2,000&nbsp;YBP.<ref name="Zhang2020" />

The oldest reliable date for dog remains found in mainland Southeast Asia is from Vietnam at 4,000&nbsp;YBP, and in [[Island Southeast Asia]] from [[Timor-Leste]] at 3,000&nbsp;YBP.<ref name=balme2018/> The earliest dingo remains in the [[Torres Straits]] date to 2,100&nbsp;YBP. In New Guinea, the earliest dog remains date to 2,500–2,300 YBP from Caution Bay near [[Port Moresby]], but no ancient New Guinea singing dog remains have been found.<ref name=greig2016/>

The earliest dingo skeletal remains in Australia are estimated at 3,450&nbsp;YBP from the Mandura Caves on the [[Nullarbor Plain]], south-eastern [[Western Australia]];<ref name=greig2016/><ref name=jackson2015/> 3,320&nbsp;YBP from Woombah Midden near [[Woombah, New South Wales]]; and 3,170&nbsp;YBP from Fromme's Landing on the [[Murray River]] near [[Mannum]], [[South Australia]].<ref name=jackson2015/> Dingo bone fragments were found in a rock shelter located at [[Mount Burr, South Australia]], in a layer that was originally dated 7,000–8,500 YBP.<ref name=milham2010/> Excavations later indicated that the levels had been disturbed, and the dingo remains "probably moved to an earlier level."<ref name=smithC1/><ref name=gollan1984/> The dating of these early Australian dingo fossils led to the widely held belief that dingoes first arrived in Australia 4,000 YBP and then took 500 years to disperse around the continent.<ref name=smithC3/> However, the timing of these skeletal remains was based on the dating of the sediments in which they were discovered, and not the specimens themselves.<ref name=balme2018/>

In 2018, the oldest skeletal bones from the Madura Caves were directly carbon dated between 3,348 and 3,081 YBP, providing the earliest evidence of the dingo and that dingoes may have arrived later than had previously been proposed. The next-most reliable timing is based on desiccated flesh dated 2,200&nbsp;YBP from Thylacine Hole, 110&nbsp;km west of Eucla on the Nullarbor Plain, southeastern Western Australia. When dingoes first arrived, they would have been taken up by Indigenous Australians, who then provided a network for their swift transfer around the continent. Based on the recorded distribution time for dogs across Tasmania and cats across Australia once indigenous Australians had acquired them, the dispersal of dingoes from their point of landing until they occupied continental Australia is proposed to have taken only 70 years.<ref name=balme2018/> The red fox is estimated to have dispersed across the continent in only 60–80 years.<ref name=smithC3/>

At the end of the [[last glacial maximum]] and the associated rise in sea levels, Tasmania became separated from the Australian mainland 12,000&nbsp;YBP,<ref name=lyndall2012/> and New Guinea 6,500<ref name=cairns2016/>–8,500 YBP<ref name=cairns2016/><ref name=bourke2009/> by the inundation of the [[Sahul Shelf]].<ref name=monash2015/> Fossil remains in Australia date to around 3,500&nbsp;YBP and no dingo remains have been uncovered in Tasmania, so the dingo is estimated to have arrived in Australia at a time between 3,500 and 12,000 YBP. To reach Australia through [[Maritime Southeast Asia|Island Southeast Asia]] even at the lowest sea level of the last glacial maximum, a journey of at least {{convert|50|km}} over open sea between ancient [[Sunda Shelf|Sunda]] and Sahul was necessary, so they must have accompanied humans on boats.<ref name=savolainen2004/>

===Phylogeny===
{{Further|Canis lupus dingo#Lineage}}
[[Image:Map of Sunda and Sahul.png|upright=1.35|thumb|The [[Sahul Shelf]] and the [[Sunda Shelf]] during the past 12,000&nbsp;years: Tasmania separated from the mainland 12,000&nbsp;{{sc|[[YBP]]}},<ref name=lyndall2012/> and New Guinea separated from the mainland 6,500<ref name=cairns2016/>–8,500&nbsp;{{sc|[[YBP]]}}.<ref name=cairns2016/><ref name=bourke2009/>]]

[[Whole genome sequencing]] indicates that, while dogs are a [[Genetic divergence|genetically divergent]] subspecies of the grey wolf,<ref name=fan2016/> the dog is not a descendant of the extant grey wolf. Rather, these are sister taxa which share a common ancestor from a [[ghost population]] of wolves that disappeared at the end of the [[Late Pleistocene]].<ref name=freedman2014/> The dog and the dingo are not separate species.<ref name=fan2016/> The dingo and the [[Basenji]] are [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]]{{efn|"The term ''[[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal taxon]]'' refers to a lineage that diverges early in the history of the group and lies on a branch that originates near the common ancestor of the group".{{nowrap| — Reece (2015)<ref name=reece2015/>}} }} members of the domestic dog clade.<ref name=fan2016/><ref name=koepfli2015/><ref name=freedman2014/>

[[Mitochondrial genome]] sequences indicate that the dingo falls within the domestic dog clade,<ref name=thalmann2013/> and that the New Guinea singing dog is genetically closer to those dingoes that live in southeastern Australia than to those that live in the northwest.<ref name=cairns2016/> The dingo and New Guinea singing dog lineage can be traced back from Island Southeast Asia to Mainland Southeast Asia.<ref name=greig2016/> [[Gene flow]] from the genetically divergent [[Tibetan wolf#Lineage|Tibetan wolf]] forms 2% of the dingo's genome,<ref name=fan2016/> which likely represents ancient admixture in eastern Eurasia.<ref name=freedman2014/><ref name=wang2015/>

By the close of the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]] 11,700&nbsp;years ago, five ancestral dog lineages had diversified from each other, with one of these being represented today by the New Guinea singing dog.<ref name="Bergström2020"/> In 2020, the first whole [[genome]] sequencing of the dingo and the New Guinea singing dog was undertaken. The study indicates that the ancestral lineage of the dingo/New Guinea singing dog clade arose in southern [[East Asia]], migrated through Island Southeast Asia 9,900&nbsp;{{sc|[[YBP]]}}, and reached Australia 8,300&nbsp;{{sc|[[YBP]]}}; however, the human population which brought them remains unknown. The dingo's genome indicates that it was once a domestic dog which commenced a process of [[feral]]isation since its arrival 8,300&nbsp;years ago, with the new environment leading to changes in those genomic regions which regulate metabolism, neurodevelopment, and reproduction.<ref name=Zhang2020b/>

A 2016 genetic study shows that the lineage of those dingoes found today in the northwestern part of the Australian continent split from the lineage of the New Guinea singing dog and southeastern dingo 8,300&nbsp;years ago, followed by a split between the New Guinea singing dog lineage from the southeastern dingo lineage 7,800&nbsp;years ago. The study proposes that two dingo migrations occurred when sea levels were lower and Australia and New Guinea formed one landmass named [[Sahul Shelf|Sahul]]<ref name=cairns2016/><ref name=cairns2017/> that existed until 6,500–8,000 years ago.<ref name=smithC3/><ref name=cairns2016/><ref name=cairns2017/> Whole genome analysis of the dingo indicates there are three sub-populations which exist in Northeast (Tropical), Southeast (Alpine), and West/Central Australia (Desert).<ref name=Zhang2020b/> Morphological data showing the dingo skulls from Southeastern Australia (Alpine dingoes) being quite distinct from the other ecotypes. And [[Genomics|genomic]] and [[mitochondrial DNA]] sequencing demonstrating at least 2 dingo mtDNA haplotypes colonised Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=GigaScience |doi=10.1093/gigascience/giad018 |title=The Australasian dingo archetype: ''de novo'' chromosome-length genome assembly, DNA methylome, and cranial morphology |year=2023 |last1=Ballard |first1=J William O. |last2=Field |first2=Matt A. |last3=Edwards |first3=Richard J. |last4=Wilson |first4=Laura A B. |last5=Koungoulos |first5=Loukas G. |last6=Rosen |first6=Benjamin D. |last7=Chernoff |first7=Barry |last8=Dudchenko |first8=Olga |last9=Omer |first9=Arina |last10=Keilwagen |first10=Jens |last11=Skvortsova |first11=Ksenia |last12=Bogdanovic |first12=Ozren |last13=Chan |first13=Eva |last14=Zammit |first14=Robert |last15=Hayes |first15=Vanessa |last16=Aiden |first16=Erez Lieberman |volume=12 |pmid=36994871 |pmc=10353722 }}</ref>

In 2020, a genetic study found that the [[New Guinea singing dog#New Guinea Highland wild dog|New Guinea Highland wild dogs]] were genetically basal to the dingo and the New Guinea singing dog, and therefore the potential originator of both.<ref name=Surbakti2020>{{cite journal|title=New Guinea highland wild dogs are the original New Guinea singing dogs|year=2020|doi=10.1073/pnas.2007242117|last1=Surbakti|first1=Suriani|last2=Parker|first2=Heidi G.|last3=McIntyre|first3=James K.|last4=Maury|first4=Hendra K.|last5=Cairns|first5=Kylie M.|last6=Selvig|first6=Meagan|last7=Pangau-Adam|first7=Margaretha|last8=Safonpo|first8=Apolo|last9=Numberi|first9=Leonardo|last10=Runtuboi|first10=Dirk Y. P.|last11=Davis|first11=Brian W.|last12=Ostrander|first12=Elaine A.|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=117|issue=39|pages=24369–24376|pmid=32868416|pmc=7533868|bibcode=2020PNAS..11724369S |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) skeleton at the Royal Veterinary College anatomy museum.JPG|thumb|Skeleton]]

The dingo is a medium-sized canid with a lean, hardy body that is adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The head is the widest part of the body, wedge-shaped, and large in proportion to the body.<ref name=smithC1/> Captive dingoes are longer and heavier than wild dingoes, as they have access to better food and veterinary care. The average wild dingo male weighs {{convert|15.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|14.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|18.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|16.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The average wild dingo male length is {{convert|125|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|122|cm|in|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|136|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|133|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The average wild dingo male stands at the shoulder height of {{convert|59|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|56|cm|in|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|56|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|53|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Dingoes rarely carry excess fat and the wild ones display exposed ribs.<ref name=smithC1/> Dingoes from northern and northwestern Australia are often larger than those found in central and southern Australia.<ref name=corbett2004/><ref name=smithC1/> The dingo is similar to the New Guinea singing dog in morphology apart from the dingo's greater height at the [[withers]].<ref name=crowther2014/> The average dingo can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts |url=https://www.dingoden.net/facts.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Dingo Den Animal Rescue |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207004021/https://www.dingoden.net/facts.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Compared with the dog, the dingo is able to rotate its wrists and can turn doorknobs or raise latches in order to escape confinement. Dingo shoulder joints are unusually flexible, and they can climb fences, cliffs, trees, and rocks. These adaptations help dingoes climbing in difficult terrain, where they prefer high vantage points. A similar adaptation can be found in the [[Norwegian Lundehund]], which was developed on isolated Norwegian islands to hunt in cliff and rocky areas. Wolves do not have this ability.<ref name=Shipman2020/>

{{multiple image
|align=right
|perrow=2
|total_width=380

|image1=Dingoskull.jpg
|caption1=Sketching of a dingo skull by [[Frédéric Cuvier]]

|image2=Wolf cranium labelled.jpg
|caption2=Key features of a wolf skull and dentition

}}
Compared with the skull of the dog, the dingo possesses a longer [[Snout|muzzle]], longer [[carnassial]] teeth, longer and more slender [[canine teeth]], larger [[auditory bullae]], a flatter [[cranium]] with a larger [[sagittal crest]], and larger [[nuchal lines]].<ref name=smithC1/> In 2014, a study was conducted on pre-20th century dingo specimens that are unlikely to have been influenced by later hybridisation. The dingo skull was found to differ relative to the domestic dog by its larger [[palate|palatal]] width, longer [[rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]], shorter skull height, and wider sagittal crest.<ref name=crowther2014/> However, this was rebutted with the figures falling within the wider range of the domestic dog<ref name=jackson2017/><ref name=Jackson2019/> and that each dog breed differs from the others in skull measurements.<ref name=Jackson2019/> Based on a comparison with the remains of a dingo found at Fromme's Landing, the dingo's skull and skeleton have not changed over the past 3,000 years.<ref name=smithC1/> Compared to the wolf, the dingo possesses a [[paedomorphic]] [[cranium]] similar to domestic dogs. However, the dingo has a larger brain size compared to dogs of the same body weight, with the dingo being more comparable with the wolf than dogs are. In this respect, the dingo resembles two similar [[mesopredators]], the dhole and the coyote.<ref name=smith2017b/> The eyes are triangular (or almond-shaped) and are hazel to dark in colour with dark rims. The ears are [[Erect (position)|erect]] and occur high on the skull.<ref name=smithC1/>

===Coat colour===
{{multiple image
|align=right
|perrow=2
|total_width=400

|image1=Dingo walking - DPLA - 026a12b934a17352c2cba61e68a3a3c3.jpg
|caption1=Creamy white dingo

|image2=Dingo of Fraser Island-20170215-092336.jpg
|caption2=Tan or light ginger dingo

}}
The dingo's three main coat colours are described as being light ginger (or tan), black and tan, and creamy white.<ref name=smithC1/><ref name=purcellC3/> The ginger colour ranges from a deep rust to a pale cream and can be found in 74% of dingoes. Often, small white markings are seen on the tip of the tail, the feet, and the chest, but with no large white patches. Some do not exhibit white tips. The black and tan dingoes possess a black coat with a tan muzzle, chest, belly, legs, and feet and can be found in 12% of dingoes. Solid white can be found in 2% of dingoes and solid black 1%. 

Only three genes affect coat colour in the dingo compared with nine genes in the domestic dog. The ginger colour is dominant and carries the other three main colours – black, tan, and white. White dingoes breed true, and black and tan dingoes breed true; when these cross, the result is a sandy colour.<ref name=smithC1/><ref name=cairns2011/> The coat is not oily, nor does it have a dog-like odour. The dingo has a single coat in the tropical north of Australia and a double thick coat in the cold mountains of the south, the undercoat being a wolf-grey colour.<ref name=smithC1/> Patchy and brindle coat colours can be found in dingoes with no dog ancestry and these colours are less common in dingoes of mixed ancestry.<ref name=Cairns2021/>

===Tail===
The dingo's tail is flattish, tapering after mid-length and does not curve over the back, but is carried low.<ref name=smithC1/>

===Gait===
When walking, the dingo's rear foot steps in line with the front foot,<ref name=smithC1/> and these do not possess [[dewclaws]].<ref name=corbett2004/>

===Lifespan===
Dingoes in the wild live 3–5 years with few living past 7–8 years. Some have been recorded living up to 10 years. In captivity, they live for 14–16 years.<ref name=jackson2003/> One dingo has been recorded to live just under 20 years.<ref name=smithC11/>

==Adaptation==

===Hybrids, distribution and habitat===
[[File:Dingo-Distribution-Fleming.png|thumb|left|Distribution: dingoes south of the [[dingo fence]] (black line) may have a higher prevalence of [[dingo–dog hybrid]]s.]]

The [[Evolution of the wolf#Wolf-like canids|wolf-like canids]] are a group of large carnivores that are genetically closely related because their [[chromosome]]s number 78; therefore they can potentially interbreed to produce fertile [[Canid hybrid|hybrids]].<ref name=wayne1999/> In the Australian wild there exist dingoes, feral dogs, and the crossings of these two, which produce [[dingo–dog hybrid]]s.<ref name=flemingC1/> Most studies looking at the distribution of dingoes focus on the distribution of dingo–dog hybrids, instead.<ref name=smithC2/>

Dingoes occurred throughout mainland Australia before European colonisation.<ref name=NTPWS2006/><ref name=flemingC1/> They are not found in the fossil record of Tasmania, so they apparently arrived in Australia after Tasmania had separated from the mainland due to rising sea levels.<ref name=purcellC2/> The introduction of agriculture reduced dingo distribution, and by the early 1900s, large barrier fences, including the [[Dingo Fence]], excluded them from the sheep-grazing areas. Land clearance, poisoning, and trapping caused the extinction of the dingo and hybrids from most of their former range in southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Today, they are absent from most of New South Wales, Victoria, the southeastern third of South Australia, and the southwestern tip of Western Australia. They are sparse in the eastern half of Western Australia and the adjoining areas of the Northern Territory and South Australia. They are regarded as common across the remainder of the continent.<ref name=NTPWS2006/><ref name=flemingC1/>

The dingo could be considered an [[ecotype]] or an ecospecies that has adapted to Australia's unique environment.<ref name=smith49/> The dingo's present distribution covers a variety of habitats, including the temperate regions of [[Eastern states of Australia|eastern Australia]], the alpine moorlands of the [[Great Dividing Range|eastern highlands]], the arid hot deserts of [[Central Australia]], and the tropical forests and wetlands of [[Northern Australia]].<ref name=smithC2/> The occupation of, and adaption to, these habitats may have been assisted by their relationship with indigenous Australians.<ref name=purcellC3/>

===Prey and diet===
[[File:The Dingo Finds a Dead Fish.jpg|thumb|Dingo with a fish on K'gari (Fraser Island)]]

A 20-year study of the dingo's diet was conducted across Australia by the federal and state governments. These examined a total of 13,000 stomach contents and fecal samples.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> For the fecal samples, determining the matching tracks of foxes and feral cats was possible without including these samples in the study, but in distinguishing between the tracks left by dingoes and those of dingo hybrids or feral dogs was impossible.<ref name=corbett1995C2/> The study found that these canines prey on 177 species represented by 72.3% mammals (71 species), 18.8% birds (53 species), 3.3% vegetation (seeds), 1.8% reptiles (23 species), and 3.8% insects, fish, crabs, and frogs (28 species).<ref name=corbett1995C7/><ref name=flemingC2/><ref name=smithC2/> The relative proportions of prey are much the same across Australia, apart from more birds being eaten in the north and south-east coastal regions, and more lizards in Central Australia.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> Some 80% of the diet consisted of 10 species: [[red kangaroo]], [[swamp wallaby]], cattle, [[dusky rat]], [[magpie goose]], [[common brushtail possum]], [[long-haired rat]], [[agile wallaby]], [[European rabbit]], and [[common wombat]].<ref name=corbett1995A3/><ref name=flemingC2/> Of the mammals eaten, 20% could be regarded as large.<ref name=corbett1995C7/>

However, the relative proportions of the size of prey mammals varied across regions. In the tropical coast region of northern Australia, agile wallabies, dusky rats, and magpie geese formed 80% of the diet. In Central Australia, the rabbit has become a substitute for native mammals, and during droughts, cattle carcasses provide most of the diet. On the [[Barkly Tableland]], no rabbits occur nor does any native species dominate the diet, except for long-haired rats that form occasional plagues. In the [[Fortescue River]] region, the large red kangaroo and [[common wallaroo]] dominate the diet, as few smaller mammals are found in this area. On the Nullarbor Plain, rabbits and red kangaroos dominate the diet, and twice as much rabbit is eaten as red kangaroo. In the temperate mountains of eastern Australia, swamp wallaby and red-necked wallaby dominate the diet on the lower slopes and wombat on the higher slopes. Possums are commonly eaten here when found on the ground.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> In coastal regions, dingoes patrol the beaches for washed-up fish, [[Pinniped|seals]], [[penguins]], and other birds.<ref name=flemingC2/>

Dingoes drink about a litre of water each day in the summer and half a litre in winter. In arid regions during the winter, dingoes may live from the liquid in the bodies of their [[prey]], as long as the number of prey is sufficient. In arid Central Australia, weaned pups draw most of their water from their food. There, regurgitation of water by the females for the pups was observed. During lactation, captive females have no higher need of water than usual, since they consume the urine and feces of the pups, thus recycling the water and keeping the den clean.<ref name=flemingC2/> Tracked dingoes in the [[Strzelecki Desert]] regularly visited water-points every 3–5 days, with two dingoes surviving 22 days without water during both winter and summer.<ref name=allan2012/>

===Hunting behaviour===
Dingoes, dingo hybrids, and feral dogs usually attack from the rear as they pursue their prey. They kill their prey by biting the throat, which damages the [[trachea]] and the major blood vessels of the neck.<ref name=flemingC6/> The size of the hunting pack is determined by the type of prey targeted, with large packs formed to help hunt large prey. Large prey can include kangaroos, cattle, water buffalo, and feral horses.<ref name=flemingC2/> Dingoes will assess and target prey based on the prey's ability to inflict damage. Large [[kangaroo]]s are the most commonly killed prey. The main tactic is to sight the kangaroo, bail it up, then kill it. 

Dingoes typically hunt large kangaroos by having lead dingoes chase the quarry toward the paths of their pack mates, which are skilled at cutting corners in chases. The kangaroo becomes exhausted and is then killed. This same tactic is used by wolves, [[African wild dogs]], and [[hyenas]]. Another tactic shared with African wild dogs is a relay pursuit until the prey is exhausted. A pack of dingoes is three times as likely to bring down a kangaroo than an individual because the killing is done by those following the lead chaser, which has also become exhausted.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> 

Two patterns are seen for the final stage of the attack. An adult or juvenile kangaroo is nipped at the hamstrings of the hind legs to slow it before an attack to the throat. A small adult female or juvenile is bitten on the neck or back by dingoes running beside it.<ref name=flemingC2/> In one area of Central Australia, dingoes hunt kangaroos by chasing them into a wire fence, where they become temporarily immobilised. 

The largest male red kangaroos tend to ignore dingoes, even when the dingoes are hunting the younger males and females. A large eastern grey kangaroo successfully fought off an attack by a single dingo that lasted over an hour. Wallabies are hunted in a similar manner to kangaroos, the difference being that a single dingo hunts using scent rather than sight and the hunt may last several hours.<ref name=corbett1995C7/>

Dingo packs may attack young cattle and buffalo, but never healthy, grown adults. They focus on the sick or injured young. The tactics include harassing a mother with young, panicking a herd to separate the adults from the young, or watching a herd and looking for any unusual behaviour that might then be exploited.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> 

One 1992 study in the [[Fortescue River]] region observed that cattle defend their calves by circling around the calves or aggressively charging dingoes. In one study of 26 approaches, 24 were by more than one dingo and only four resulted in calves being killed. 

Dingoes often revisited carcasses. They did not touch fresh cattle carcasses until these were largely skin and bone, and even when these were plentiful, they still preferred to hunt kangaroos. 

Of 68 chases of sheep, 26 sheep were seriously injured, but only eight were killed. The dingoes could outrun the sheep and the sheep were defenceless. However, the dingoes in general appeared not to be motivated to kill sheep, and in many cases just loped alongside the sheep before veering off to chase another sheep. For those that did kill and consume sheep, a large quantity of kangaroo was still in their diet, indicating once again a preference for kangaroo.<ref name=thomson1992/> 
 
Lone dingoes can run down a rabbit, but are more successful by targeting kits near rabbit warrens. Dingoes take nestling birds, in addition to birds that are moulting and therefore cannot fly.<ref name=corbett1995C7/> Predators often use highly intelligent hunting techniques. Dingoes on Fraser Island have been observed using waves to entrap, tire, and help drown an adult swamp wallaby<ref name=behrendorff2018/> and an echidna.<ref name=behrendorff2018b/> In the coastal wetlands of northern Australia, dingoes depend on magpie geese for a large part of their diet and a lone dingo sometimes distracts these while a [[White-bellied sea eagle|white-breasted sea eagle]] makes a kill that is too heavy for it to carry off, with the dingo then driving the sea eagle away. They also scavenge on prey dropped from the nesting platforms of sea eagles.  Lone dingoes may hunt small rodents and grasshoppers in grass by using their senses of smell and hearing, then pouncing on them with their forepaws.<ref name=corbett1995C7/>

===Competitors===
Dingoes and their hybrids co-exist with the native [[quoll]]. They also co-occur in the same territory as the introduced European [[red fox]] and [[feral cat]], but little is known about the relationships between these three. Dingoes and their hybrids can drive off foxes from sources of water and occasionally eat feral cats. Dingoes can be killed by feral [[water buffalo]] and [[cattle]] goring and kicking them, from [[snake]] bite, and predation on their pups (and occasionally adults) by [[wedge-tailed eagle]]s.<ref name=flemingC2/><ref>Olsen, P. (2005). 'Wedge-tailed Eagle.' (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)</ref>

==Communication==
Like all domestic dogs, dingoes tend towards [[phonetics|phonetic]] communication. However, in contrast to domestic dogs, dingoes [[Howl (sound)|howl]] and whimper more, and [[Bark (sound)|bark]] less. Eight [[Sonority hierarchy|sound classes]] with 19 sound types have been identified.<ref name="DoritAusdruck"/>

===Barking===
[[File:Nullarbor Dingo.jpg|thumb|Dingo on the [[Nullarbor Plain]]]]

Compared to most domestic dogs, the [[bark (dog)|bark]] of a dingo is short and monosyllabic, and is rarely used. Barking was observed to make up only 5% of [[Animal communication|vocalisations]]. Dog barking has always been distinct from wolf barking.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schassburger|first=R.M.|title=Man and Wolf|year=1987|publisher=Dr. W. Junk|location=Dordrecht, the Netherlands|editor=H. Frank|chapter=Wolf vocalization: An integrated model of structure, motivation, and ontogeny}}</ref> Australian dingoes bark mainly in swooshing noises or in a mixture of [[atonality|atonal]] and [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]] sounds. In addition, barking is almost exclusively used for giving warnings. Warn-barking in a homotypical sequence and a kind of "warn-howling" in a heterotypical sequence have also been observed. The bark-howling starts with several barks and then fades into a rising and ebbing howl and is probably (similar to coughing) used to warn the puppies and members of the [[Pack (canine)|pack]]. Additionally, dingoes emit a sort of "wailing" sound, which they mostly use when approaching a [[watering hole]], probably to warn already present dingoes.<ref name="canid">{{cite book|author=Corbett, Laurie|year=2004|publisher=[[International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources]]|chapter-url=http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/actionplans/canids.pdf|chapter=Dingo|title=Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs|editor1=Claudio Sillero-Zubiri|editor2=Michael Hoffmann|editor3=David W. Macdonald|access-date=16 May 2009|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200655/http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/actionplans/canids.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the present state of knowledge, getting Australian dingoes to bark more frequently by putting them in contact with other domestic dogs is not possible. However, German zoologist [[Alfred Brehm]] reported a dingo that learned the more "typical" form of barking and how to use it, while its brother did not.<ref name="Brehm">{{cite book|title=Brehms Tierleben|publisher=Bibliographisches Institut|location=Leipzig, Wien|year=1900|pages=82–85|language=de|title-link=Brehms Tierleben}}</ref> Whether dingoes bark or bark-howl less frequently in general is not certain.<ref name="DoritAusdruck">{{cite book|last=Feddersen-Petersen|first=Dorit Urd|title=Ausdrucksverhalten beim Hund|publisher=Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG|location=Stuttgart|year=2008|isbn=978-3-440-09863-9|language=de}}</ref>

===Howling===
Dingoes have three basic forms of howling (moans, bark-howls, and snuffs) with at least 10 variations. Usually, three kinds of howls are distinguished: long and persistent, rising and ebbing, and short and abrupt.

Observations have shown that each kind of howling has several variations, though their purpose is unknown. The frequency of howling varies with the season and time of day, and is also influenced by [[Breeding in the wild|breeding]], [[Animal migration|migration]], [[lactation]], social stability, and [[Biological dispersal|dispersal]] behaviour. Howling can be more frequent in times of food shortage, because the dogs become more widely distributed within their [[home range]].<ref name="canid"/>

Additionally, howling seems to have a group function, and is sometimes an expression of joy (for example, greeting-howls). Overall, howling was observed less frequently in dingoes than among grey wolves. It may happen that one dog will begin to howl, and several or all other dogs will howl back and bark from time to time. In the [[wilderness]], dingoes howl over long distances to attract other members of the pack, to find other dogs, or to keep intruders at bay. Dingoes howl in chorus with significant pitches, and with increasing number of pack members, the variability of pitches also increases.<ref name=corbett1995C5/> Therefore, dingoes are suspected to be able to measure the size of a pack without visual contact.<ref name="impact">{{Cite book|last=Fleming|first=Peter|author2=Laurie Corbett |author3=Robert Harden |author4=Peter Thomson |title=Managing the Impacts of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs|publisher=Bureau of Rural Sciences|location=Commonwealth of Australia|year=2001}}</ref> Moreover, their highly variable chorus howls have been proposed to generate a confounding effect in the receivers by making pack size appear larger.<ref>Ortolani, A., Corbett, L.K., Feinstein, F.H., and R.P. Coppinger. 2001. "A comparative study of larynx anatomy and howling vocalizations in five canids," poster presented at Canid Biology and Conservation Conference, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.</ref>

=== Other forms ===
Growling, making up about 65% of the vocalisations, is used in an [[wikt:agonistic|agonistic]] context for [[dominance (ethology)|dominance]], and as a defensive sound. Similar to many domestic dogs, a reactive usage of defensive growling is only rarely observed. Growling very often occurs in combination with other sounds, and has been observed almost exclusively in swooshing noises (similar to barking).<ref name="DoritAusdruck"/>

During observations in [[Germany]], dingoes were heard to produce a sound that observers have called ''Schrappen''. It was only observed in an agonistic context, mostly as a defence against obtrusive pups or for defending resources. It was described as a bite intention, during which the receiver is never touched or hurt. Only a clashing of the teeth could be heard.<ref name="DoritAusdruck"/>

Aside from vocal communication, dingoes communicate, like all domestic dogs, via [[Raised-leg urination|scent marking]] specific objects (for example, ''[[Triodia (grass)|Spinifex]]'') or places (such as waters, trails, and hunting grounds) using [[Urine spraying#Canidae|chemical signals from their urine]], feces, and [[scent gland]]s. Males scent mark more frequently than females, especially during the [[Mating season#Breeding season|mating season]]. They also [[scent rub]], whereby a dog rolls its neck, shoulders, or back on something that is usually associated with food or the scent markings of other dogs.<ref name="canid"/>

Unlike wolves, dingoes can react to social cues and gestures from humans.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Young| first=Emma| title=Dingoes skilled at Reading Human Gestures| journal=[[Australian Geographic]]| date=5 March 2010| url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/dingoes-skilled-at-reading-human-gestures.htm| access-date=13 January 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126142449/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/dingoes-skilled-at-reading-human-gestures.htm| archive-date=26 January 2013| url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
Dingoes tend to be [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]] in warmer regions, but less so in cooler areas. Their main period of activity is around [[dusk]] and [[dawn]], making them a [[Crepuscular animal|crepuscular]] species in the colder climates. The periods of activity are short (often less than 1 hour) with short times of resting. Dingoes have two kinds of movement: a searching movement (apparently associated with hunting) and an exploratory movement (probably for contact and communication with other dogs).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harden|first1=RH|title=The Ecology of the Dingo in North-Eastern New South Wales I. Movements and Home Range|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=12|pages=25–37|year=1985|doi=10.1071/WR9850025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thomson|first1=PC|title=The behavioural ecology of dingoes in north-western Australia. II. Activity patterns, breeding season and pup rearing|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=19|pages=519–29|year=1992|doi=10.1071/WR9920519|issue=5}}</ref> According to studies in [[Queensland]], the wild dogs (dingo hybrids) there move freely at night through [[urban area]]s and cross streets and seem to get along quite well.<ref name="beefy15">{{cite web|title=South East Queensland's urban wild dog project|url=http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/plants/weeds-pest-animals-ants/pest-animals/a-z-listing-of-pest-animals/photo-guide-to-pest-animals/wild-dog|work=Beefy and the Beast Issue 15|publisher=Department of Natural Resources and Water|page=6|date=September 2006|access-date=8 April 2009|archive-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917140051/http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/plants/weeds-pest-animals-ants/pest-animals/a-z-listing-of-pest-animals/photo-guide-to-pest-animals/wild-dog|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Social behaviour===
The dingo's social behaviour is about as flexible as that of a [[coyote]] or grey wolf, which is perhaps one of the reasons the dingo was originally believed to have descended from the [[Indian wolf]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Macdonald |editor-first=David W |year=2006 |title=Other Dogs |encyclopedia=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |page=619 }}</ref> While young males are often solitary and nomadic in nature, breeding adults often form a settled pack.<ref name=DK>{{cite book|editor1-last=Burnie|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Don E|title=Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife|year=2001|publisher=DK Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7894-7764-4|page=185}}</ref> However, in areas of the dingo's habitat with a widely spaced population, breeding pairs remain together, apart from others.<ref name=DK/> Dingo distributions are a single dingo, 73%; two dingoes, 16%; three dingoes, 5%; four dingoes, 3%; and packs of five to seven dingoes, 3%. A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year.<ref name=jackson2003/>

Where conditions are favourable among dingo packs, the pack is stable with a distinct territory and little overlap between neighbours.<ref name=jackson2003/> The size of packs often appears to correspond to the size of prey available in the pack's territory.<ref name=jackson2003/> Desert areas have smaller groups of dingoes with a more loose territorial behaviour and sharing of the water sites.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thomson|first1=PC|title=The behavioural ecology of dingoes in north-western Australia. IV. Social and spatial organisation, and movements|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=19|pages=543–63|year=1992|doi=10.1071/WR9920543|issue=5}}</ref> The average monthly pack size was noted to be between three and 12 members.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dogs, Zoonoses, and Public Health|year=2000|publisher=CABI Publishing|location=Wallingford|isbn=978-0-85199-436-9|page=31|editor=Macpherson, Calum N. L. |display-editors=etal}}</ref>

Similar to other canids, a dingo pack largely consists of a mated pair, their current year's offspring, and occasionally a previous year's offspring.<ref name=jackson2003/> Dominance hierarchies exist both between and within males and females, with males usually being more dominant than females.<ref name=jackson2003/> However, a few exceptions have been noted in captive packs.<ref name=jackson2003/> During travel, while eating prey, or when approaching a water source for the first time, the breeding male will be seen as the leader, or [[Alpha (ethology)|alpha]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Miklósi|first=Ádám|title=Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-954566-7|page=89}}</ref> Subordinate dingoes approach a more dominant dog in a slightly crouched posture, ears flat, and tail down, to ensure peace in the pack.<ref name=jackson2003/> Establishment of artificial packs in captive dingoes has failed.<ref name=jackson2003/>

===Reproduction===
{{See also|Canine reproduction}}
[[File:Dingowelpen Berlin.JPG|thumb|right|Dingo pups]]
Dingoes breed once annually, depending on the [[estrous cycle]] of the females, which according to most sources, only come in heat once per year. Dingo females can come in heat twice per year, but can only be pregnant once a year, with the second time only seeming to be pregnant.<ref>{{cite book|last=Trummler|first=Eberhard|author2=Dietmar Mundo|title=Das Jahr des Hundes – Ein Jahr im Leben einer Hundefamilie|edition=1st|year=1984|publisher=Kynos Verlag|location=Nerdlen|language=de|isbn=978-3-924008-11-6}}</ref><ref name="victoria">{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=E|last2=Stevens|first2=PL|title=Reproduction in Wild Canids, Canis-Familiaris, From the Eastern Highlands of Victoria|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=15|pages=385–97|year=1988|doi=10.1071/WR9880385|issue=4}}</ref>

Males are virile throughout the year in most regions, but have a lower sperm production during the summer in most cases. During studies on dingoes from the Eastern Highlands and Central Australia in captivity, no specific breeding cycle could be observed. All were potent throughout the year. The breeding was only regulated by the heat of the females. A rise in [[testosterone]] was observed in the males during the breeding season, but this was attributed to the heat of the females and copulation. In contrast to the captive dingoes, captured dingo males from Central Australia did show evidence of a male breeding cycle. Those dingoes showed no interest in females in heat (this time other domestic dogs) outside the mating season (January to July) and did not breed with them.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Catling|first1=PC|title=Seasonal variation in plasma testosterone and the testis in captive male dingoes, Canis familiaries dingo|journal=Australian Journal of Zoology|volume=27|pages=939–44|year=1979|doi=10.1071/ZO9790939|issue=6}}</ref>

The mating season usually occurs in Australia between March and May (according to other sources between April and June). During this time, dingoes may actively defend their territories using vocalisations, dominance behaviour, growling, and barking.<ref name="impact"/>

Most females in the wild start breeding at the age of 2 years. Within packs, the alpha female tends to go into heat before subordinates and actively suppresses mating attempts by other females. Males become sexually mature between the ages of 1 and 3 years. The precise start of breeding varies depending on age, social status, geographic range, and seasonal conditions. Among dingoes in captivity, the pre-estrus was observed to last 10–12 days. However, the pre-estrus may last as long as 60 days in the wild.<ref name="canid"/>

[[File:Look at me dad.jpg|thumb|right|A male dingo with his pups]]
In general, the only dingoes in a pack that successfully breed are the alpha pair, and the other pack members help with raising the pups. Subordinates are actively prevented from breeding by the alpha pair and some subordinate females have a [[false pregnancy]]. Low-ranking or solitary dingoes can successfully breed if the pack structure breaks up.<ref name="Nord">{{cite web|author=Parks|author2=Wildlife Service|name-list-style=amp|title=A Management Program for the Dingo (''Canis lupus dingo'') in the Northern Territory of Australia, 2006–2011|url=http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/programs/pdf/dingo_management.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913072502/http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/programs/pdf/dingo_management.pdf|archive-date=2008-09-13|publisher=Department of Natural Resources|access-date=4 May 2009}}</ref>

The [[gestation]] period lasts for 61–69 days and the size of the litter can range from 1 to 10 (usually 5) pups, with the number of males born tending to be higher than that of females. Pups of subordinate females usually get killed by the alpha female, which causes the population increase to be low even in good times. This behaviour possibly developed as an adaptation to the fluctuating environmental conditions in Australia. Pups are usually born between May and August (the winter period), but in tropical regions, breeding can occur at any time of the year.<ref name="canid"/>

At the age of 3 weeks, the pups leave the den for the first time, and leave it completely at 8 weeks. Dens are mostly underground. Reports exist of dens in abandoned rabbit burrows, rock formations, under boulders in dry creeks, under large [[Triodia (grass)|spinifex]], in hollow logs, and augmented burrows of monitor lizards and wombat burrows. The pups usually stray around the den within a radius of {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=1}}, and are accompanied by older dogs during longer travels. The transition to consuming solid food is normally accomplished by all members of the pack during the age of 9 to 12 weeks. Apart from their own experiences, pups also learn through observation.<ref name="Ian">{{cite book|last=Moffitt|first=Ian|title=Der Australische Busch|edition=5th|year=1984|publisher=Time-Life Books|location=Amsterdam|language=de|id={{Listed Invalid ISBN|90-6182-070-0}} }}</ref> Young dingoes usually become independent at the age of 3–6 months or they disperse at the age of 10 months, when the next mating season starts.

===Migration===
Dingoes usually remain in one area and do not undergo seasonal migrations. However, during times of [[famine]], even in normally "safe" areas, dingoes travel into [[pastoral]] areas, where intensive, human-induced control measures are undertaken. In [[Western Australia]] in the 1970s, young dogs were found to travel for long distances when necessary. About 10% of the dogs captured—all younger than 12 months—were later recaptured far away from their first location. Among these, the average travelled distance for males was {{convert|21.7|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} and for females {{convert|11|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=1}}. Therefore, travelling dingoes had lower chances of survival in foreign territories, and they are apparently unlikely to survive long migrations through occupied territories. The rarity of long migration routes seemed to confirm this. During investigations in the Nullarbor Plain, even longer migration routes were recorded. The longest recorded migration route of a [[Tracking collar|radio-collared]] dingo was about {{convert|24-32|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}.<ref name="western">{{cite web|author=A.W. Hogstrom|title=A changing approach to Dingo control in Western Australia – Proceedings of the Twelfth Vertebrate Pest Conference|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=vpc12|publisher=University of Nebraska|year=1986|access-date=8 May 2009|archive-date=11 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611170741/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=vpc12|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Attacks on humans===
{{Main|Dingo attack}}

Dingoes generally avoid conflict with humans, but they are large enough to be dangerous. Most attacks involve people feeding wild dingoes, particularly on [[K'gari]] (formerly Fraser Island), which is a special centre of dingo-related tourism. The vast majority of dingo attacks are minor in nature, but some can be major, and a few have been fatal: the death of two-month-old [[Death of Azaria Chamberlain|Azaria Chamberlain]] in the [[Northern Territory]] in 1980 is one of them. Many [[Protected areas of Australia|Australian national parks]] have signs advising visitors not to feed wildlife, partly because this practice is not healthy for the animals, and partly because it may encourage undesirable behaviour, such as snatching or biting by dingoes, kangaroos, [[goanna]]s, and some birds.

==Impact==
=== Ecological ===
====Extinction of thylacines====

{{See also|Thylacine#Extinction in the Australian mainland|l1=Extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia}}

Some researchers propose that the dingo caused the extirpation of the [[thylacine]], the [[Tasmanian devil]], and the [[Tasmanian nativehen|Tasmanian native hen]] from mainland Australia because of the correlation in space and time with the dingo's arrival. Recent studies have questioned this proposal, suggesting that climate change and increasing human populations may have been the cause.<ref>{{cite web|last=MacDonald|first=Fiona|title=Dingoes cleared of mainland extinctions|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2013/09/dingoes-cleared-of-mainland-extinctions/|work=Australian Geographic|access-date=2 March 2014|author2=AAP|date=9 September 2013|archive-date=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020010232/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2013/09/dingoes-cleared-of-mainland-extinctions/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dingoes do not seem to have had the same ecological impact that [[Feral foxes in Australia|invasive red foxes]] have in modern times. This might be connected to the dingo's way of hunting and the size of their favoured prey, as well as to the low number of dingoes in the time before European colonisation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Short|first1=J|title=Surplus killing by introduced predators in Australia—evidence for ineffective anti-predator adaptations in native prey species?|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=103|pages=283–301|year=2002|doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00139-2|issue=3|last2=Kinnear|first2=J.E.|last3=Robley|first3=Alan|bibcode=2002BCons.103..283S}}</ref>

In 2017, a genetic study found that the population of the northwestern dingoes had commenced expanding since 4,000—6,000 years ago. This was proposed to be due either to their first arrival in Australia or to the commencement of the extinction of the thylacine, with the dingo expanding into the thylacine's former range.<ref name=cairns2017/>

==== Interactions with humans ====

[[File:Dingo Fraser Is.jpg|thumb|Dingo, Fraser Island, Queensland]]

The first [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] colonists who settled at [[Port Jackson]], in 1788, recorded the dingo living with [[Aboriginal Australians|indigenous Australians]],<ref name="tench1789" /> and later at [[Melville Island (Australia)|Melville Island]], in 1818. Furthermore, they were noted at the lower [[Darling River|Darling]] and [[Murray River|Murray]] rivers in 1862, indicating that the dingo was possibly semi-domesticated (or at least utilised in a "[[symbiotic]]" manner) by aboriginal Australians.<ref name="Jackson2019" /> When livestock farming began expanding across Australia, in the early 19th century, dingoes began preying on sheep and cattle. Numerous population-control measures have been implemented since then, including a nation-wide fencing project, with only limited success.<ref name="smithC5" />

[[File:1208 To Alice Springs - Baby Dingo.jpg|thumb|right|Dingoes are sometimes kept as pets, although their tendencies as wild animals are difficult to suppress.]]

Dingoes can be tame when they come in frequent contact with humans.<ref name="DoritAusdruck" /> Furthermore, some dingoes live with humans. Many [[indigenous Australians]] and early European settlers lived alongside dingoes. Indigenous Australians would take dingo pups from the den and tame them until sexual maturity and the dogs would leave.<ref name=Coppinger>{{Cite book|last=Coppinger|first=Raymond and Lorna|title=Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, & Evolution|year=2001|publisher=Scribner|location=New York|isbn=978-0-684-85530-1|pages=45, 67}}<!--|access-date=29 May 2013--></ref> 

According to David Jenkins, a research fellow at [[Charles Sturt University]], the breeding and reintroduction of pure dingoes is no easy option and, as of 2007, there were no studies that seriously dealt with this topic, especially in areas where dingo populations are already present.<ref name="dilution">{{Cite web|author=Beeby, Rosslyn |title=Genetic dilution dogs dingoes|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/environment/genetic-dilution-dogs-dingoes/666292.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415072636/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/environment/genetic-dilution-dogs-dingoes/666292.aspx|archive-date=2009-04-15|work=The Canberra Times|date=7 February 2007|access-date=14 May 2009}}</ref>

====Interactions with other animals====

Much of the present place of wild dogs in the Australian ecosystem, especially in the urban areas, remains unknown. Although the ecological role of dingoes in Northern and Central Australia is well understood, the same does not apply to the role of wild dogs in the east of the continent. In contrast to some claims,<ref name="Hass">{{cite web|title=Breeding Lethal Weapons of Mass Destruction Sanctioned|url=http://www.sosnews.org/attachments/dingo2.htm|publisher=Save Our Snowy|access-date=9 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208182733/http://www.sosnews.org/attachments/dingo2.htm|archive-date=8 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> dingoes are assumed to have a positive impact on biodiversity in areas where feral foxes are present.<ref>Letnic M, Baker L, Nesbitt B, 2013. "Ecologically functional landscapes and the role of dingoes as trophic regulators in south-eastern Australia and other habitats". Ecological Management and Restoration, Vol 14(2) 1–5.</ref>

Dingoes are regarded as [[apex predator]]s and possibly perform an ecological key function. Likely (with increasing evidence from scientific research), they control the diversity of the ecosystem by limiting the number of prey and keeping the competition in check. Wild dogs hunt feral livestock such as goats and pigs, as well as native prey and [[Invasive species|introduced animals]]. The low number of [[Feral goats in Australia|feral goats]] in Northern Australia is possibly caused by the presence of the dingoes, but whether they control the goats' numbers is still disputable. Studies from 1995 in the northern wet forests of Australia found the dingoes there did not reduce the number of [[feral pigs]], but their predation only affects the pig population together with the presence of water buffaloes (which hinder the pigs' access to food).<ref>{{cite journal|ref=none|last1=Corbett|first1=L|title=Does Dingo Predation or Buffalo Competition Regulate Feral Pig Populations in the Australian Wet-Dry Tropics? An Experimental Study|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=22|pages=65–74|year=1995|doi=10.1071/WR9950065}}</ref>

Observations concerning the mutual impact of dingoes and red fox and cat populations suggest dingoes limit the access of foxes and cats to certain resources. As a result, a disappearance of the dingoes may cause an increase of red fox and [[feral cat]] numbers, and therefore, a higher pressure on native animals. These studies found the presence of dingoes is one of the factors that keep fox numbers in an area low, and therefore reduces pressure on native animals, which then do not disappear from the area. The countrywide numbers of red foxes are especially high where dingo numbers are low, but other factors might be responsible for this, depending on the area.<ref name="regulator">{{cite journal|title=Evaluating the role of the dingo as a trophic regulator in Australian ecosystems|doi=10.1111/j.1442-8903.2008.00402.x|year=2008|last1=Claridge|first1=Andrew W.|last2=Hunt|first2=Rob|journal=Ecological Management & Restoration|volume=9|issue=2|page=116}}</ref> Evidence was found for a competition between wild dogs and red foxes in the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]] of New South Wales, since many overlaps occurred in the spectrum of preferred prey, but only evidence for local competition, not on a grand scale, was found.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mitchell|first1=Bruce D.|last2=Banks|first2=Peter B.|title=Do wild dogs exclude foxes? Evidence for competition from dietary and spatial overlaps|journal=Austral Ecology|volume=30|pages=581–91|year=2005|doi=10.1111/j.1442-9993.2005.01473.x|issue=5|bibcode=2005AusEc..30..581M }}</ref>

Also, dingoes can live with red foxes and feral cats without reducing their numbers in areas with sufficient food resources (for example, high rabbit numbers) and hiding places. Nearly nothing is known about the relationship of wild dogs and feral cats, except both mostly live in the same areas. Although wild dogs also eat cats, whether this affects the cat populations is not known.<ref name="regulator"/>

Additionally, the disappearance of dingoes might increase the prevalence of kangaroo, rabbit, and [[Australian brushturkey]] numbers. In the areas outside the Dingo Fence, the number of [[emu]]s is lower than in the areas inside.  However, the numbers changed depending on the habitat. Since the environment is the same on both sides of the fence, the dingo was assumed to be a strong factor for the regulation of these species.{{clarify|date=May 2014}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pople|first1=A. R.|last2=Grigg|first2=G. C.|last3=Cairns|first3=S. C.|last4=Beard|first4=L. A.|last5=Alexander|first5=P.|title=Trends in the numbers of red kangaroos and emus on either side of the South Australian dingo fence: evidence for predator regulation?|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=27|pages=269–76|year=2000|doi=10.1071/WR99030|issue=3|url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9890/trends_in_RK_Emu.pdf|access-date=27 December 2018|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306105008/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9890/trends_in_RK_Emu.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Therefore, some people demand that dingo numbers should be allowed to increase or dingoes should be reintroduced in areas with low dingo populations to lower the pressure on endangered populations of native species and to reintroduce them in certain areas. In addition, the presence of the Australian brushturkey in Queensland increased significantly after dingo baiting was conducted.<ref>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Brian|title=Stuff the turkeys, dingoes need a break|url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/stuff-the-turkeys-dingoes-need-a-break/story-e6freoof-1226612766487|access-date=5 April 2013|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=5 April 2013}}</ref>

The dingo's habitat covers most of Australia, but they are absent in the southeast and [[Tasmania]], and an area in the southwest (see map).<ref name="smithC2" /> As Australia's largest extant terrestrial predators,<ref>{{cite web |date=19 October 2018 |title=Dingo dinners: what's on the menu for Australia's top predator? |url=https://theconversation.com/dingo-dinners-whats-on-the-menu-for-australias-top-predator-103846 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019101539/http://theconversation.com/dingo-dinners-whats-on-the-menu-for-australias-top-predator-103846 |archive-date=19 October 2018 |access-date=26 July 2021 |work=The Conversation}}</ref> dingoes prey on mammals up to the size of the large [[red kangaroo]], in addition to the [[grey kangaroo]], [[wombat]], [[wallaby]], [[quoll]], [[Phalangeriformes|possum]]<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Canis_lupus_dingo/ | title=Canis lupus dingo (Dingo) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] | access-date=20 January 2023 | archive-date=1 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201181111/https://www.animaldiversity.org/accounts/Canis_lupus_dingo/ | url-status=live }}</ref> and most other [[marsupials]]; they frequently pursue birds, lizards, fish, crabs, crayfish, eels, snakes, frogs, young crocodiles, larger insects, snails, carrion, human refuse,<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/> and sometimes fallen fruits or seeds.

Dingoes can also be of potential benefit to their environment, as they will hunt Australia's many introduced and invasive species. This includes human-introduced animals such as deer and their offspring ([[sambar deer|sambar]], [[axis deer|chital]], and [[red deer]]) and [[water buffalo]], in addition to the highly invasive rabbits, [[Red foxes in Australia|red foxes]], feral and domestic cats, some feral dogs, sheep, and calves.<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/> Rarely, a pack of dingoes will pursue the larger and more dangerous [[Australian feral camel|dromedary camel]], [[Feral donkeys in Australia|feral donkey]], or [[Brumby|feral horse]]; unattended young animals, or sick, weak, or elderly individuals are at greatest risk.<ref name="smithC2" /><ref name="corbett1995C7" />

=== Cultural ===

Cultural opinions about the dingo are often based on its perceived "cunning", and the idea that it is an intermediate between civilisation and wildness.<ref name="heimisch">{{cite journal|last1=Trigger|first1=D|last2=Mulcock|first2=J|last3=Gaynor|first3=A|last4=Toussaint|first4=Y|title=Ecological restoration, cultural preferences and the negotiation of 'nativeness' in Australia|journal=Geoforum|volume=39|pages=1273–83|year=2008|doi=10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.05.010|issue=3}}</ref>

Some of the early European settlers looked on dingoes as domestic dogs, while others thought they were more like wolves. Over the years, dingoes began to attack sheep, and their relationship to the Europeans changed very quickly; they were regarded as devious and cowardly, since they did not fight bravely in the eyes of the Europeans, and vanished into the bush.<ref name="cunning">{{cite web|author=Parker, Merryl|title=The Cunning Dingo|url=http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/642_thecunningdingo.pdf|publisher=Animals & Society Institute|year=2007|access-date=9 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727122147/http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/642_thecunningdingo.pdf|archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref> Additionally, they were seen as [[promiscuity|promiscuous]] or as [[devil]]s with a [[venom]]ous bite or saliva, so they could be killed unreservedly. Over the years, dingo trappers gained some prestige for their work, especially when they managed to kill hard-to-catch dingoes. Dingoes were associated with thieves, [[Vagrancy (people)|vagabonds]], [[bushranger]]s, and [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] opponents. From the 1960s, politicians began calling their opponents "dingo", meaning they were cowardly and treacherous, and it has become a popular form of attack since then.<ref name="broadcast">{{cite web|author1=Williams, Robyn |author2=Corbett, Laurie |author3=Jenkins, David |title=The Dingo in Australia|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s314366.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020212122242/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s314366.htm|archive-date=2002-02-12|publisher=The Science Show|date=23 June 2001|access-date=8 May 2009|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Today, the word "dingo" still stands for "coward" and "cheat", with verb and adjective forms used, as well.<ref name="heimisch"/>

The image of the dingo has ranged among some groups from the instructive<ref name="bringing">{{cite thesis|author=Merryl Ann Parker|title=Bringing the dingo home: Discursive representations of the dingo by aboriginal, colonial and contemporary Australians|type=PhD thesis|publisher=University of Tasmania|url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/1196/|via=UTAS ePrints|date=April 2006|doi=10.25959/23211383.v1|access-date=24 March 2023|archive-date=24 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324180653/https://eprints.utas.edu.au/1196/|url-status=live}}</ref> to the demonic.<ref name="beastwithin">{{cite thesis |author=Howard, Peter |title=The beast within: An exploration on Australian constructions of wildlife |type=PhD thesis |publisher=Griffith University |url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/366876 |doi=10.25904/1912/2006 |hdl=10072/366876 |via=Australian Digital Theses Program |date=22 November 2006 |access-date=24 March 2023 |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324180645/https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/366876 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ceremonies (like a keen at the [[Cape York Peninsula]] in the form of howling)<ref name="Ian"/> and [[dreamtime]] stories are connected to the dingo, which were passed down through the generations.

The dingo plays a prominent role in the Dreamtime stories of indigenous Australians,<ref name=roseC3/> but it is rarely depicted in their [[cave paintings]] when compared with the extinct thylacine.<ref name=gunn2010/><ref name=smithC3/> One of the tribal elders of the people of the [[Yarralin, Northern Territory]] region tells that the Dreamtime dingo is the ancestor of both dingoes and humans. The dingoes "are what we would be if we were not what we are."<ref name=roseC3/>

Similar to how Europeans acquired dingoes, the Aboriginal people of Australia acquired dogs from the immigrants very quickly. This process was so fast that [[Francis Barrallier]] (surveyor on early expeditions around the colony at Port Jackson) discovered in 1802 that five dogs of European origin were there before him.<ref name="broadcast"/> One theory holds that other domestic dogs adopt the role of the "pure" dingo.<ref name="bringing"/> Introduced animals, such as the water buffalo and the domestic cat, have been adopted into the indigenous Aboriginal culture in the forms of [[ritual]]s, traditional paintings, and dreamtime stories.<ref name="heimisch"/>

Most of the published myths originate from the [[Western Desert cultural bloc|Western Desert]] and show a remarkable complexity. In some stories, dingoes are the central characters, while in others, they are only minor ones. One time, an ancestor from the Dreamtime created humans and dingoes or gave them their current shape. Stories mention creation, socially acceptable behaviour, and explanations why some things are the way they are. Myths exist about [[Shapeshifting|shapeshifters]] (human to dingo or vice versa), "dingo-people", and the creation of certain landscapes or elements of those landscapes, like waterholes or mountains.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== Economic ===
Livestock farming expanded across Australia from the early 1800s, which led to conflict between the dingo and graziers. Sheep, and to a lesser extent cattle, are an easy target for dingoes. The [[Pastoralism|pastoralists]] and the government bodies that support this industry have shot, trapped, and poisoned dingoes or destroyed dingo pups in their dens. After two centuries of persecution, the dingo or dingo–dog hybrids can still be found across most of the continent.<ref name=smithC5/>

Research on the real extent of the damage and the reason for this problem only started recently. Livestock can die from many causes, and when the carcass is found, determining with certainty the cause of death is often difficult. Since the outcome of an attack on livestock depends to a high degree on the behaviour and experience of the predator and the prey, only direct observation is certain to determine whether an attack was by dingoes or other domestic dogs. Even the existence of remnants of the prey in the scat of wild dogs does not prove they are pests, since wild dogs also eat carrion.

[[File:Wild dog distribution 2.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Distribution of wild dogs and livestock<ref name=flemingC1/>]]

The cattle industry can tolerate low to moderate, and sometimes high, numbers of wild dogs (therefore dingoes are not so easily regarded as pests in these areas). In the case of sheep and goats, a zero-tolerance attitude is common. The biggest threats are dogs that live inside or near the [[paddock]] areas. The extent of sheep loss is hard to determine due to the wide [[pasture]] lands in some parts of Australia.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

In 2006, cattle losses in the Northern Territory rangeland grazing areas were estimated to be up to 30%.<ref name="Nord"/>

Therefore, factors such as availability of native prey, as well as the defending behaviour and health of the cattle, play an important role in the number of losses. A study in Central Australia in 2003 confirmed that dingoes only have a low impact on cattle numbers when a sufficient supply of other prey (such as kangaroos and rabbits) is available. In some parts of Australia, the loss of calves is assumed to be minimised if horned cattle are used instead of [[Polled livestock|polled]].<ref name="impact"/> The precise economic impact is not known, and the rescue of some calves is unlikely to compensate for the necessary costs of control measures. Calves usually suffer less lethal wounds than sheep due to their size and the protection by adult cattle, so they have a higher chance of surviving an attack. As a result, the evidence of a dog attack may only be discovered after the cattle have been herded back into the enclosure,{{clarify|date=May 2014}} and signs such as bitten ears, tails, and other wounds are discovered.

The opinions of cattle owners regarding dingoes are more variable than those of sheep owners. Some cattle owners believe that the weakened mother losing her calf is better in times of drought so that she does not have to care for her calf, too. Therefore, these owners are more hesitant to kill dingoes.<ref name="Ian"/> The cattle industry may benefit from the predation of dingoes on rabbits, kangaroos, and rats. Furthermore, the mortality rate of calves has many possible causes, and discriminating between them is difficult. The only reliable method to assess the damage would be to document all pregnant cows, then observe their development and those of their calves.<ref name="Nord"/> The loss of calves in observed areas where dingoes were controlled was higher than in other areas. Loss of livestock is, therefore, not necessarily caused by the occurrence of dingoes and is independent from wild dogs.<ref name="ReviewCanid">{{cite journal|author1=Allen, L.R.|author2=Fleming, P.J.S.|title=Review of Canid Management in Australia for the Protection of Livestock and Wildlife – Potential Application to Coyote Management|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmsheepgoat/2/|journal=Sheep & Goat Research Journal|volume=19|year=2004|page=97|access-date=31 May 2013|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194119/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmsheepgoat/2/|url-status=live}}</ref> One researcher has stated that for cattle stations where dingoes were controlled, kangaroos were abundant, and this affects the availability of grass.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/dingo-expert-says-its-better-for-the-environment-to-let-them-live-even-if-they-eat-one-or-two-cows-here-and-there/story-fnn3gfdo-1227377786816|title=Dingo expert says it's better for the environment to let them live|access-date=9 August 2015|date=June 2015|archive-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602181710/http://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/dingo-expert-says-its-better-for-the-environment-to-let-them-live-even-if-they-eat-one-or-two-cows-here-and-there/story-fnn3gfdo-1227377786816|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Domestic dogs are the only terrestrial predators in Australia that are big enough to kill fully grown sheep, and only a few sheep manage to recover from the severe injuries. In the case of lambs, death can have many causes apart from attacks by predators, which are blamed for the deaths because they eat from the carcasses. Although attacks by red foxes are possible, such attacks are more rare than previously thought.<ref name="ReviewCanid"/> The fact that the sheep and goat industry is much more susceptible to damage caused by wild dogs than the cattle industry is mostly due to two factors – the flight behaviour of the sheep and their tendency to flock together in the face of danger, and the hunting methods of wild dogs, along with their efficient way of handling goats and sheep.

Therefore, the damage to the livestock industry does not correlate to the numbers of wild dogs in an area (except that no damage occurs where no wild dogs occur).<ref name="ReviewCanid"/>

According to a report from the government of Queensland, wild dogs cost the state about $30 million annually due to livestock losses, the spread of diseases, and control measures. Losses for the livestock industry alone were estimated to be as high as $18 million.<ref name="Nord"/> In [[Barcaldine, Queensland]], up to one-fifth of all sheep are killed by dingoes annually, a situation which has been described as an "epidemic".<ref>{{cite news |title=Dingo 'epidemic' on farm |first=Aden |last=Miles |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/sheep/8769476/Dingo-epidemic-on-farms |newspaper=Stuff |date=7 June 2013 |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110223021/http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/sheep/8769476/Dingo-epidemic-on-farms |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a survey among cattle owners in 1995, performed by the Park and Wildlife Service, owners estimated their annual losses due to wild dogs (depending on the district) to be from 1.6% to 7.1%.<ref name="nt">{{cite web|title=Animals – Dingo Wild Dog (canis lupus familiaris, canis lupus dingo and hybrids)|url=http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/animals/native/dingo.html?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309125809/http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/animals/native/dingo.html|archive-date=9 March 2009|publisher=Northern Territory Government|access-date=9 May 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018, a study in northern South Australia indicates that fetal/calf loss averages 18.6%, with no significant reduction due to dingo baiting. The calf losses did not correlate with increased dingo activity, and the cattle diseases pestivirus and leptospirosis were a major cause. Dingoes then scavenged on the carcasses. There was also evidence of dingo predation on calves.<ref name=campbell2018/>

Among the indigenous Australians, dingoes were also used as hunting aids, living [[hot water bottle]]s, and camp dogs. Their scalps were used as a kind of [[currency]], their teeth were traditionally used for decorative purposes, and their fur for traditional costumes.

Sometimes "pure" dingoes are important for [[tourism]], when they are used to attract visitors. However, this seems to be common only on Fraser Island, where the dingoes are extensively used as a symbol to enhance the attraction of the island. Tourists are drawn to the experience of personally interacting with dingoes. Pictures of dingoes appear on brochures, many websites, and postcards advertising the island.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Lawrance, Kate|author2=Higginbottom, Karen|title=Behavioural Responses of Dingoes to Tourist on Fraser Island|url=http://www.crctourism.com.au/WMS/Upload/Resources/bookshop/WT27_Lawrance-DingoFraserIs.pdf|publisher=Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre|year=2002|access-date=3 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916042757/http://www.crctourism.com.au/WMS/Upload/Resources/bookshop/WT27_Lawrance-DingoFraserIs.pdf|archive-date=16 September 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Legal status==
[[File:dingoinazoo.jpg|thumb|Dingo in a [[Maryland]] zoo]]
The dingo is recognised as a [[Native species|native animal]] under the laws of all Australian jurisdictions. Australia has over 500 national parks of which all but six are managed by the [[States and territories of Australia|states and territories]].<ref name=austgov2017/> {{as of|2017}}, the legal status of the dingo varies between these jurisdictions and in some instances it varies between different regions of a single jurisdiction. {{As of|2008}} some of these jurisdictions classify dingoes as an [[Invasive species|invasive]] native.<ref name="defpure" />
* [[Australian government]]: Section 528 of the [[Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999]] defines a native species as one that was present in Australia before the year 1400. The dingo is protected in all Australian government managed national parks and reserves, [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage Areas]], and other protected areas.
* [[Australian Capital Territory]]: The dingo is listed as a "pest animal" outside national parks and reserves in the Pest Plants and Animals (Pest Animals) Declaration 2016 (No 1) made under the Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005, which calls for a management plan for pest animals. The Nature Conservation Act 2014 protects native animals in national parks and reserves but excludes this protection to "pest animals" declared under the Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005.
* [[New South Wales]]: The dingo falls under the definition of "wildlife" under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 however it also becomes "unprotected fauna" under Schedule 11 of the act. The Wild Dog Destruction Act (1921) applies only to the [[Western Division (New South Wales)|western division]] of the state and includes the dingo in its definition of "wild dogs". The act requires landowners to destroy any wild dogs on their property and any person owning a dingo or half-bred dingo without a permit faces a fine. In other parts of the state, dingoes can be kept as pets under the Companion Animals Act 1998 as a dingo is defined under this act as a "dog". The dingo has been proposed for listing under the Threatened Species Conservation Act because it is argued that these dogs had established populations before the arrival of Europeans, but no decision has been made.
* [[Northern Territory]]: The dingo is a "vertebrate that is indigenous to Australia" and therefore "protected wildlife" under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2014. A permit is required for all matters dealing with protected wildlife.
* [[Queensland]]: The dingo is listed as "least concern wildlife" in the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 under the [[Nature Conservation Act 1992]], therefore the dingo is protected in National Parks and conservation areas. The dingo is listed as a "pest" in the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Regulation 2003 under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002, which requires land owners to take reasonable steps to keep their lands free of pests.
* [[South Australia]]: The [[National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972]] defines a protected animal as one that is indigenous to Australia but then lists the dingo as an "unprotected species" under Schedule 11. The purpose of the Dog Fence Act 1946 is to prevent wild dogs entering into the pastoral and agricultural areas south of the dog-proof fence. The dingo is listed as a "wild dog" under this act, and landowners are required to maintain the fence and destroy any wild dog within the vicinity of the fence by shooting, trapping or baiting. The dingo is listed as an "unprotected species" in the Natural Resources Management Act 2004, which allows landowners to lay baits "to control animals" on their land just north of the dog fence.
* [[Tasmania]]: Tasmania does not have a native dingo population. The dingo is listed as a "restricted animal" in the Nature Conservation Act 2002 and cannot be imported without a permit. Once imported into Tasmania, a dingo is listed as a dog under the Dog Control Act 2000. 
* [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]: The dingo is a "vertebrate taxon" that is "indigenous" to Australia and therefore "wildlife" under the Wildlife Act 1975, which protects wildlife. The act mandates that a permit is required to keep a dingo, and that this dingo must not be cross-bred with a dog. The act allows an order to be made to unprotect dingoes in certain areas of the state. The Order in Council made on the 28 September 2010 includes the far north-west of the state and all of the state north-east of Melbourne. It was made to protect stock on private land. The order allows dingoes to be trapped, shot or baited by any person on private land in these regions, while protecting the dingo on state-owned land.
* [[Western Australia]]: Dingoes are considered as "unprotected" native fauna under the [[Wildlife Conservation Act 1950|Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act]]. The dingo is recorded as a "declared pest" on the Western Australian Organism List. This list records those species that have been declared as pests under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, and these are regarded as pests across all of Western Australia. Landowners must take the prescribed measures to deal with declared pests on their land. The policy of the WA government is to promote eradication of dingoes in the livestock grazing areas but leave them undisturbed in the rest of the state.<ref name=wagov2017/>

==Control measures==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2014}}
Dingo attacks on livestock led to widescale efforts to repel them from areas with intensive agricultural usage, and all states and territories have enacted laws for the control of dingoes.<ref name="impact"/> In the early 20th century, fences were erected to keep dingoes away from areas frequented by sheep, and a tendency to routinely eradicate dingoes developed among some livestock owners. Established methods for the control of dingoes in sheep areas entailed the employment of specific workers on every property. The job of these people (who were nicknamed "doggers") was to reduce the number of dingoes by using [[Animal trapping|steel traps]], [[Bait (luring substance)|baits]], firearms and other methods. The responsibility for the control of wild dogs lay solely in the hands of the landowners. At the same time, the government was forced to control the number of dingoes. As a result, a number of measures for the control of dingoes developed over time. It was also considered that dingoes travel over long distances to reach areas with richer prey populations, and the control methods were often concentrated along "paths" or "trails" and in areas that were far away from sheep areas. All dingoes were regarded as a potential danger and were hunted.

Apart from the introduction of the poison [[Sodium fluoroacetate|1080]] (extensively used for 40 years and nicknamed "doggone"), the methods and strategies for controlling wild dogs have changed little over time. Information concerning cultural importance to indigenous people and the importance of dingoes and the impact of control measures on other species is also lacking in some areas. Historically, the attitudes and needs of indigenous people were not taken into account when dingoes were controlled. Other factors that might be taken into account are the genetic status (degree of interbreeding) of dingoes in these areas, ownership and land usage, as well as a reduction of killing measures to areas outside the zones. However, most control measures and the appropriate studies are there to minimise the loss of livestock and not to protect dingoes.

Increasing pressure from environmentalists against the random killing of dingoes, as well as the impact on other animals, demanded that more information needed to be gathered to prove the necessity of control measures and to disprove the claim of unnecessary killings. Today, permanent population control is regarded as necessary to reduce the impact of all wild dogs and to ensure the survival of the "pure" dingo in the wild.<ref name="Nord"/>

===Guardian animals===
To protect livestock, [[livestock guardian dog]]s (for example, [[Maremma Sheepdog|Maremmas]]), [[donkey]]s, [[alpaca]]s and [[llama]]s are used.<ref name="wilddogs/dingo">{{cite web|title=Wild dogs/dingo Canis familiaris/Canis familiaris (dingo) |url=http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Wild-Dog-Strategy.pdf |publisher=Queensland Government |date=September 2002 |access-date=13 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531220438/http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Wild-Dog-Strategy.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pest of the past, dingo's star in the ascendancy|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pest-of-the-past-dingoes-star-in-the-ascendancy/2007/07/21/1184560109155.html|date=22 July 2007|access-date=16 May 2009|location=Melbourne|work=The Age|archive-date=5 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205161437/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pest-of-the-past-dingoes-star-in-the-ascendancy/2007/07/21/1184560109155.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Dingo Fence===
[[File:Dogfence.jpg|thumb|right|A part of the [[dingo fence]]]]
In the 1920s, the [[Dingo Fence]] was erected on the basis of the ''Wild Dog Act (1921)'' and, until 1931, thousands of miles of Dingo Fences had been erected in several areas of South Australia. In the year 1946, these efforts were directed to a single goal, and the Dingo Fence was finally completed. The fence connected with other fences in New South Wales and Queensland. The main responsibilities in maintaining the Dingo Fence still lies with the landowners whose properties border on the fence and who receive financial support from the government.

===Reward system===
A [[Bounty (reward)|reward]] system (local, as well from the government) was active from 1846 to the end of the 20th century, but there is no evidence that – despite the billions of dollars spent – it was ever an efficient control method. Therefore, its importance declined over time.<ref name="canid"/>

Dingo scalping commenced in 1912 with the passage of the [[Wild Dogs Act]] by the government of [[South Australia]]. In an attempt to reduce depredation on livestock, that government offered a bounty for dingo skins, and this program was later repeated in [[Western Australia]] and the [[Northern Territory]]. One writer argues that this new legislation and economic driver had significant impacts on Aboriginal society in the region.<ref name="Keen">{{cite book|editor=Ian Keen|title=Indigenous participation in Australian economies: Historical and anthropological perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8IhO9UdBfU4C&pg=PA91|access-date=29 March 2012|publisher=ANU E Press|isbn=978-1-921666-86-5|pages=91–|date=2010-01-01}}</ref> This act was followed by updates and amendments, including 1931, 1938, and 1948.<ref name="Australia1977">{{cite book|author=South Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V84_AQAAIAAJ|title=Acts of the Parliament of South Australia|publisher=Government Printer, South Africa|year=1977}}</ref>

===Poisoning===
[[File:1080PoisonWarning gobeirne.png|thumb|Warning of poisonous [[sodium fluoroacetate]] [[Bait (luring substance)|baits]]]]

Baits with the poison [[Sodium fluoroacetate|1080]] are regarded as the fastest and safest method for dog control, since they are extremely susceptible. Even small amounts of poison per dog are sufficient (0.3&nbsp;mg per kg).<ref name="Nord"/> The application of aerial baiting is regulated in the Commonwealth by the ''Civil Aviation Regulations (1988)''. The assumption that the [[tiger quoll]] might be damaged by the poison led to the dwindling of areas where aerial baiting could be performed. In areas where aerial baiting is no longer possible, it is necessary to put down baits.

From 2004, cyanide-ejectors and protection collars (filled with 1080 on certain spots) have been tested.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ejector research update |url=http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Beefy-Beast-Ed11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025123309/http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Beefy-Beast-Ed11.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2009 |publisher=Department of Natural Resources and Mines |work=Beefy and the Beast Issue 11 |date=August 2003 |access-date=13 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="beefy12">{{cite web |title=Livestock protection collars to be tested in Queensland |url=http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Beefy-Beast-Ed12.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025122803/http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/IPA-Beefy-Beast-Ed12.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2009 |publisher=Department of Natural Resources and Mines |work=Beefy and the Beast Issue 12 |date=April 2004 |access-date=13 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2016, controversy surrounded a plan to inject a population of dingoes on Pelorus Island, off the coast of northern Queensland, Australia, with pills that would release a fatal dose of 1080 poison two years after the dingoes were to be intentionally released to help eradicate goats. The dingoes were dubbed 'death-row dingoes', and the plan was blocked due to concerns for a locally threatened shorebird.<ref>{{cite web |title=Death-row dingoes plan blocked |url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/08/death-row-dingoes-plan-blocked/ |publisher=Australian Geographic |date=2016-08-19 |access-date=8 October 2018 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008061508/https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/08/death-row-dingoes-plan-blocked/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Neutering===
Owners of dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes asked to [[Neutering|neuter]] their pets and keep them under observation to reduce the number of stray/feral dogs and prevent interbreeding with dingoes.<ref name="Nord"/>

===Efficiency of measures===
The efficiency of control measures was questioned in the past and is often questioned today, as well as whether they stand in a good cost-benefit ratio. The premium system proved to be susceptible to deception and to be useless on a large scale, and can therefore only be used for getting rid of "problem-dogs".<ref name="impact"/><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2664.2001.00569.x|jstor=2655734|last1=Allen|first1=L. R.|last2=Sparkes|first2=E. C.|title=The Effect of Dingo Control on Sheep and Beef Cattle in Queensland|journal=Journal of Applied Ecology|volume=38|issue=1|pages=76–87|year=2001|bibcode=2001JApEc..38...76A |doi-access=free}}</ref> Animal traps are considered inhumane and inefficient on a large scale, due to the limited efficacy of baits. Based on studies, it is assumed that only young dogs that would have died anyway can be captured.<ref name="western"/> Furthermore, wild dogs are capable of learning and sometimes are able to detect and avoid traps quite efficiently. In one case, a dingo bitch followed a dogger and triggered his traps one after another by carefully pushing her paw through the sand that covered the trap.<ref name="cunning"/>

Poisonous baits can be very effective when they are of good meat quality; however, they do not last long<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Twigg|first1=Laurie E.|last2=Eldridge|first2=Steve R.|last3=Edwards|first3=Glenn P.|last4=Shakeshaft|first4=Bernie J.|last5=Depreu|first5=Nicki D.|last6=Adams|first6=Neville|title=The longevity and efficacy of 1080 meat baits used for dingo control in central Australia|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=27|pages=473–81|year=2000|doi=10.1071/WR99044|issue=5}}</ref> and are occasionally taken by red foxes, quolls, ants and birds. Aerial baiting can nearly eliminate whole dingo populations.<ref name="western"/> Livestock guardian dogs can effectively minimise livestock losses, but are less effective on wide open areas with widely distributed livestock. Furthermore, they can be a danger to the livestock or be killed by control measures themselves when they are not sufficiently supervised by their owners.<ref name="beefy12"/> Fences are reliable in keeping wild dogs from entering certain areas, but they are expensive to build, need permanent maintenance, and only cause the problem to be relocated.

Control measures mostly result in smaller packs and a disruption of pack structure. The measures seem{{which|date=October 2014}} to be rather detrimental to the livestock industry because the empty territories are taken over by young dogs and the predation then increases. Nonetheless, it is regarded as unlikely that the control measures could completely eradicate the dingo in Central Australia, and the elimination of all wild dogs is not considered a realistic option.

It has been shown that culling a small percentage of immature dingoes on Fraser Island had little significant negative impact on the overall island population, though this is being disputed.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://theconversation.com/culling-is-no-danger-to-the-future-of-dingoes-on-fraser-island-24073|title= Culling is no danger to the future of dingoes on Fraser Island|last1= Benjamin|first1= Allen|date= 13 April 2015|website= theconversation.com|access-date= 27 April 2015|archive-date= 20 April 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150420001605/http://theconversation.com/culling-is-no-danger-to-the-future-of-dingoes-on-fraser-island-24073|url-status= live}}</ref>

==Conservation of purebreds==
Until 2004, the dingo was categorised as of "least concern" on the [[IUCN Red List|Red List of Threatened Species]]. In 2008, it was recategorised as [[Vulnerable species|"vulnerable"]], following the decline in numbers to around 30% of "pure" dingoes, due to [[crossbreed]]ing with domestic dogs.<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn|author=Corbett, L.K.|year=2008|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41585/0|title=''Canis lupus ssp. dingo''|access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> In 2018, the IUCN regarded the dingo as a feral dog and discarded it from the Red List.<ref name=Boitani2018/>

Dingoes are reasonably abundant in large parts of Australia, but there is some argument that they are endangered due to interbreeding with other dogs in many parts of their range.<ref name="iucn"/> Dingoes receive varying levels of protection in conservation areas such as national parks and natural reserves in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Victoria, [[Arnhem Land]] and other Aboriginal lands, [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Sites]], and the whole of the Australian Capital Territory.{{cn|date=April 2024}} In some states, dingoes are regarded as declared pests and landowners are allowed to control the local populations. Throughout Australia, all other wild dogs are considered pests.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

[[File:Canis lupus dingo 2.jpg|thumb|right|Female dingo with a tagged ear on Fraser Island]]

Fraser Island is a 1,840 square kilometre [[World Heritage Site]] located off Australia's eastern coast. The island is home to a genetically distinct population of dingoes that are free of dog [[introgression]], estimated to number 120.<ref name=oneill2017/> These dingoes are unique because they are closely related to the southeastern dingoes but share a number of genes with the New Guinea singing dog and show some evidence of admixture with the northwestern dingoes.<ref name=cairns2016/> Because of their conservation value, in February 2013, a report on Fraser Island dingo management strategies was released, with options including ending the intimidation of dingoes, tagging practice changes and regular veterinarian checkups, as well as a permanent dingo [[Animal sanctuary|sanctuary]] on the island.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10868207 |title=Dingo sanctuary considered for Fraser Island |date=27 February 2013 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-date=28 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228061411/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10868207 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to DNA examinations from 2004, the dingoes of Fraser Island are "pure", as opposed to dingo–dog [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Newby, Jonica|title=Last of the Dingoes|url=http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1335391.htm|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=31 March 2005|access-date=8 May 2009|archive-date=23 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423124809/http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1335391.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, skull measurements from the mid-1990s had a different result.<ref name="Queensland Schaedel">{{cite journal|last1=Woodall|first1=PF|last2=Pavlov|first2=P|last3=Twyford|first3=KL|title=Dingoes in Queensland, Australia: skull dimensions and the indenity of wild canids|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=23|pages=581–7|year=1996|doi=10.1071/WR9960581|issue=5}}</ref> A 2013 study showed that dingoes living in the Tanami Desert are among the "purest" in Australia.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Carmen|title=Tanami dingoes among purest in Australia|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/ntch-tanami-dingo-purity/4729046|access-date=6 June 2013|newspaper=ABC Rural|date=4 June 2013|archive-date=6 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606164436/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/ntch-tanami-dingo-purity/4729046|url-status=live}}</ref>

Groups that have devoted themselves to the conservation of the "pure" dingo by using breeding programs include the ''Australian Native Dog Conservation Society'' and the ''Australian Dingo Conservation Association''. Presently, the efforts of the dingo conservation groups are considered to be ineffective because most of their dogs are untested or are known to be hybrids.<ref name="canid"/>

Dingo conservation efforts focus primarily on preventing interbreeding between dingoes and other domestic dogs in order to conserve the population of pure dingoes. This is extremely difficult and costly. Conservation efforts are hampered by the fact that it is not known how many pure dingoes still exist in Australia. Steps to conserve the pure dingo can only be effective when the identification of dingoes and other domestic dogs is absolutely reliable, especially in the case of living specimens. Additionally, conservation efforts are in conflict with control measures.

Conservation of pure and survivable dingo populations is promising in remote areas, where contact with humans and other domestic dogs is rare. Under New South Wales state policy in parks, reserves and other areas not used by agriculture, these populations are only to be controlled when they pose a threat to the survival of other native species. The introduction of "dog-free" buffer zones around areas with pure dingoes is regarded as a realistic method to stop interbreeding. This is enforced to the extent that all wild dogs can be killed outside the conservation areas. However, studies from the year 2007 indicate that even an intensive control of core areas is probably not able to stop the process of interbreeding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Predation and Hybridisation by Feral Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) – proposed key threatening process listing |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/feraldogspd.htm |publisher=New South Wales Government |date=29 August 2008 |access-date=13 May 2009 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111175057/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/feraldogspd.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre, many studies are finding a case for the re-introduction of the dingo into previously occupied areas in order to return some balance to badly degraded areas as a result of "unregulated and ignorant farming practices".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dingofoundation.org/ |title=Dingo Discovery Research Centre |website=dingofoundation.org |access-date=2018-05-31 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523053408/http://www.dingofoundation.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dingo densities have been measured at up to 3 per square kilometre (0.8/sq&nbsp;mi) in both the [[Guy Fawkes River]] region of New South Wales and in [[South Australia]] at the height of a [[Rabbit plagues in Australia|rabbit plague]].<ref name="impact"/>

===Hybridisation===
{{Main|Dingo–dog hybrid}}
[[File:Dingo and hybrid distribution.jpg|thumb|Broad distribution map of dingoes and [[Dingo–dog hybrid|dingo–dog hybrids]] showing percent purity<ref name=corbett1995C10/>]]
[[File:Dingo or maybe crossbreed.jpg|thumb|right|Wild dog with atypical colouration, possibly a hybrid]]

In 2023, a study of 402 wild and captive dingoes using 195,000 points across the dingo genome indicates that past studies of hybridisation were over-estimated and that pure dingoes are more common than they were originally thought to be.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Genome-wide variant analyses reveal new patterns of admixture and population structure in Australian dingoes |year=2023 |doi=10.1111/mec.16998 |last1=Cairns |first1=Kylie M. |last2=Crowther |first2=Mathew S. |last3=Parker |first3=Heidi G. |last4=Ostrander |first4=Elaine A. |last5=Letnic |first5=Mike |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=32 |issue=15 |pages=4133–4150 |pmid=37246949 |pmc=10524503 |bibcode=2023MolEc..32.4133C |s2cid=258960891 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Purebred dingoes more common than researchers thought, genetic study finds|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-30/research-shows-dingoes-are-more-purebred-than-thought/102409812|access-date=30 May 2023|archive-date=30 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530074758/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-30/research-shows-dingoes-are-more-purebred-than-thought/102409812|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2021, DNA testing of over 5,000 wild-living canines from across Australia found that 31 were feral domestic dogs and 27 were [[F1 hybrid|first generation hybrids]]. This finding challenges the perception that dingoes are nearly extinct and have been replaced by feral domestic dogs.<ref name=Cairns2021c/>

Coat colour cannot be used to distinguish hybrids.<ref name=Cairns2021/> Dingo-like domestic dogs and dingo-hybrids can be generally distinguished by the more dog-typical kind of barking that exists among the hybrids, and differences in the breeding cycle,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Catling|first1=PC|last2=Corbett|first2=LK|last3=Newsome|first3=AE|title=Reproduction in captive and wild dingoes (''Canis familiaris dingo'') in temperate and arid environments of Australia|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=19|pages=195–209|year=1992|doi=10.1071/WR9920195|issue=2}}</ref> certain skull characteristics,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Newsome|first1=AE|last2=Corbett|first2=LK|last3=Carpenter|first3=SM|title=The Identity of the Dingo I. Morphological Discriminants of Dingo and Dog Skulls|journal=Australian Journal of Zoology|volume=28|pages=615–25|year=1980|doi=10.1071/ZO9800615|issue=4}}</ref> and genetic analyses<ref name="sanctuary">{{cite web|author=Wilton, Alan |title=Genetic Diversity in the Dingo|url=http://www.dingosanctuary.com.au/dna%5B1%5D.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040219224138/http://www.dingosanctuary.com.au/dna%5B1%5D.htm|archive-date=2004-02-19|publisher=dingosanctuary|access-date=14 May 2009}}</ref> can be used for differentiation. Despite all the characteristics that can be used for distinguishing between dingoes and other domestic dogs, there are two problems that should not be underestimated. First, there is no real clarity regarding at what point a dog is regarded as a "pure" dingo,<ref name="defpure">{{cite web|author1=Brad Purcell |author2=Robert Mulley |author3=Robert Close |title=Genetic characterisation of dingoes in the Blue Mountains world heritage area|url=http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424014424/http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf|archive-date=24 April 2009|publisher=Invasive Animals CRC|work=14th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference|page=140|location=Darwin|year=2008|access-date=13 May 2009}}</ref> and, secondly, no distinguishing feature is completely reliable — it is not known which characteristics permanently remain under the conditions of natural selection.

There are two main opinions regarding this process of interbreeding. The first, and likely most common, position states that the "pure" dingo should be preserved via strong controls of the wild dog populations, and only "pure" or "nearly-pure" dingoes should be protected.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Draft Dingo Management Strategy for Fraser Island|url=http://www.fido.org.au/DingoManagement.html|publisher=Fraser Island Defenders Organization|access-date=14 May 2009|archive-date=27 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027163858/http://www.fido.org.au/DingoManagement.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The second position is relatively new and is of the opinion that people must accept that the dingo has changed and that it is impossible to bring the "pure" dingo back. Conservation of these dogs should therefore be based on where and how they live, as well as their cultural and ecological role, instead of concentrating on precise definitions or concerns about "genetic purity".<ref name="wilddog">{{cite journal|last1=Daniels|first1=Mike J.|last2=Corbett|first2=Laurie|title=Redefining introgressed protected mammals: when is a wildcat a wild cat and a dingo a wild dog?|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=30|pages=213–8|year=2003|doi=10.1071/WR02045|issue=3}}</ref> Both positions are controversially discussed.

Due to this interbreeding, there is a wider range of fur colours, skull shapes and body size in the modern-day wild dog population than in the time before the arrival of the Europeans. Over the course of the last 40 years, {{when|date=May 2014}} there has been an increase of about 20% in the average wild dog body size.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Spencer, Ricky-John |author2=Lapidge, Steven J. |author3=Dall, David |author4=Humphrys, Simon |title=Bringing out the Mongrel in Australian Dingoes: The Evolution of Wild Dog Body Size|url=http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116162534/http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf|archive-date=2009-01-16|publisher=Inavisive Animals CRC|work=14th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference|page=149|date=10–13 June 2008|access-date=10 April 2009}}</ref> It is currently unknown whether, in the case of the disappearance of "pure" dingoes, remaining hybrids would alter the predation pressure on other animals. It is also unclear what kind of role these hybrids would play in the Australian ecosystems. However, it is unlikely that the dynamics of the various ecosystems will be excessively disturbed by this process.<ref name="impact"/>

In 2011, a total of 3,941 samples were included in the first continent-wide DNA study of wild dogs. The study found that 46% were pure dingoes which exhibited no dog [[alleles]] (gene expressions). There was evidence of hybridisation in every region sampled. In Central Australia only 13% were hybrids; however, in southeastern Australia 99% were hybrids or feral dogs. Pure dingo distribution was 88% in the Northern Territory, intermediate numbers in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, and 1% in New South Wales and Victoria. Almost all wild dogs showed some dingo ancestry,<ref name=stephens2011/><ref name=parr2016/> with only 3% of dogs showing less than 80% dingo ancestry. This indicates that domestic dogs have a low survival rate in the wild or that most hybridisation is the result of roaming dogs that return to their owners. No populations of feral dogs have been found in Australia.<ref name=stephens2011/>

In 2016, a three dimensional [[Morphometrics#Landmark-based geometric morphometrics|geometric morphometric analysis]] of the skulls of dingoes, dogs and their hybrids found that dingo–dog hybrids exhibit morphology closer to the dingo than to the parent group dog. Hybridisation did not push the unique ''Canis dingo'' cranial morphology towards the wolf phenotype, therefore hybrids cannot be distinguished from dingoes based on cranial measures. The study suggests that the wild dingo morphology is dominant when compared with the recessive dog breed morphology, and concludes that although hybridisation introduces dog DNA into the dingo population, the native cranial morphology remains resistant to change.<ref name=parr2016/>

==See also==
*[[Portal:Dogs|Dogs portal]]
*[[New Guinea singing dog]]
*[[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia]]
*[[Indian pariah dog]]
*[[Free-ranging dog]]
*[[Carolina Dog]]

==Footnotes==
{{Notelist|1}}

==References==
{{Reflist|25em|refs=

<!-- <ref name=AFD2017>{{cite web
 |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Canis_familiaris
 |title=Species Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758 – Common Dog, Dingo, Domestic Dog
 |date=15 December 2017
 |website=Australian Faunal Directory
 |publisher=Australian Government
 |department=Department of Environment & Energy
 |access-date=6 May 2018
 |archive-date=27 October 2019
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<ref name=behrendorff2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/PC17044|title=Clever girl? An observation of innovative prey handling by a dingo (Canis dingo)|journal=Pacific Conservation Biology|volume=24|issue=2|pages=194|year=2018|last1=Behrendorff|first1=Linda}}</ref>

<ref name=behrendorff2018b>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/AM17024|title=A prickly subject: Innovative handling of a difficult prey|journal=Australian Mammalogy|volume=40|issue=2|pages=294|year=2018|last1=Behrendorff|first1=Linda}}</ref>

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<ref name=Boitani2018>{{cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3746/119623865#taxonomy|title=Grey wolf|last1=Boitani|first1=L.|last2=Phillips|first2=M.|last3=Jhala|first3=Y.|year=2018|access-date=11 December 2019|quote=See under "Taxonomy in Detail" – Note that this assessment follows Jackson et al. (2017) in regarding the Dingo, sometimes considered a subspecies of Grey Wolf (C. l. dingo), as a feral dog population derived from a domesticate, and hence as C. familiaris, along with all other free-ranging dogs.}}</ref>

<ref name=bourke2009>{{cite book|editor=Bourke, R. Michael|year=2009|title=Food and Agriculture in New Guinea|publisher=Australian National University E. Press|isbn=978-1-921536-60-1}}</ref>

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<ref name=cairns2016>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s10709-016-9924-z|pmid=27640201|title=New insights on the history of canids in Oceania based on mitochondrial and nuclear data|journal=Genetica|volume=144|issue=5|pages=553–565|year=2016|last1=Cairns|first1=Kylie M.|last2=Wilton|first2=Alan N.|s2cid=9158826}}</ref>

<ref name=cairns2017>{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/ece3.3487|pmid=29188009|pmc=5696388|title=Conservation implications for dingoes from the maternal and paternal genome: Multiple populations, dog introgression, and demography|journal=Ecology and Evolution|volume=7|issue=22|pages=9787–9807|year=2017|last1=Cairns|first1=Kylie M|last2=Brown|first2=Sarah K|last3=Sacks|first3=Benjamin N|last4=Ballard|first4=J. William O|bibcode=2017EcoEv...7.9787C }}</ref>

<ref name=Cairns2021>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/jzo.12875|title=Pelage variation in dingoes across southeastern Australia: Implications for conservation and management|year=2021|last1=Cairns|first1=K. M.|last2=Newman|first2=K. D.|last3=Crowther|first3=M. S.|last4=Letnic|first4=M.|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=314|issue=2|pages=104–115|hdl=11343/298231 |s2cid=233894665|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

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<ref name=Cairns2021c>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/AM20055|title=The myth of wild dogs in Australia: Are there any out there?|year=2021|last1=Cairns|first1=Kylie M.|last2=Crowther|first2=Mathew S.|last3=Nesbitt|first3=Bradley|last4=Letnic|first4=Mike|journal=Australian Mammalogy|volume=44 |page=67 |s2cid=233632758|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name=COL2018>{{cite web|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2018/search/all/key/canis+dingo/fossil/0/match/1|title=''Canis lupus dingo'' Meyer, 1793|date=May 2018|website=Catalogue of Life 2018 Checklist|publisher=Catalogue of Life|access-date=8 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142516/http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2018/search/all/key/canis+dingo/fossil/0/match/1|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<ref name=campbell2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/AN17008|title=Dingo baiting did not reduce fetal/calf loss in beef cattle in northern South Australia|journal=Animal Production Science|volume=59|issue=2|pages=319|year=2018|last1=Campbell|first1=Greg|last2=Coffey|first2=Andrew|last3=Miller|first3=Heather|last4=Read|first4=John L.|last5=Brook|first5=Anthony|last6=Fleming|first6=Peter J. S.|last7=Bird|first7=Peter|last8=Eldridge|first8=Steve|last9=Allen|first9=Benjamin L.|s2cid=90841931}}</ref>

<ref name=corbett1995C2>{{Harvnb|Corbett|1995|p=26}}</ref>

<ref name=corbett1995C5>{{Harvnb|Corbett|1995|pp=58–79}}</ref>

<ref name=corbett1995C7>{{Harvnb|Corbett|1995|pp=102–123}}</ref>

<ref name=corbett1995C10>{{Harvnb|Corbett|1995|p=166}}</ref>

<ref name=corbett1995A3>{{Harvnb|Corbett|1995|pp=183–186}}</ref>

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<ref name=clutton2015>{{cite book|last1=Clutton-Brock|first1=Juliet|title=Taxonomic Tapestries: The Threads of Evolutionary, Behavioural and Conservation Research|publisher=ANU Press, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia|editor=Alison M Behie|editor2=Marc F Oxenham|year=2015|chapter=Chapter 9. Naming the scale of nature|pages=171–182|chapter-url=http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p318011/pdf/9.-Naming-the-scale-of-nature.pdf|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080102/http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p318011/pdf/9.-Naming-the-scale-of-nature.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name=dampier1699>{{cite book|author=Dampier, William|title=A voyage to New Holland, Chapter 2: South of the line to Brazil – OF THE INHABITANTS THERE, AND GREAT TIDES, THE VEGETABLES AND ANIMALS, ETC|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15675|publisher=Project Gutenberg|year=1699|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-date=17 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117071304/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15675|url-status=live}} "...my men saw two or three beasts like hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, being nothing but skin and bones..."</ref>

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<ref name=flemingC1>{{Harvnb|Fleming|Corbett|Harden|Thomson|2001|pp=1–16}}</ref>

<ref name=flemingC2>{{Harvnb|Fleming|Corbett|Harden|Thomson|2001|pp=17–42}}</ref>

<ref name=flemingC6>{{Harvnb|Fleming|Corbett|Harden|Thomson|2001|pp=83–110}}</ref>

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<ref name=gunn2010>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03122417.2010.11689380|title=A Dingo Burial from the Arnhem Land Plateau|journal=Australian Archaeology|volume=71|pages=11–16 |year=2016 |last1=Gunn|first1=R.G. |last2=Whear|first2=R.L. |last3=Douglas|first3=L.C. |s2cid=49589069|url=http://connectingcountry.arts.monash.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2010-Dingo-burial-AA.pdf|access-date=18 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319215324/http://connectingcountry.arts.monash.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2010-Dingo-burial-AA.pdf|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=dead}}First published 2010, online 2016</ref>

<ref name=greig2016>{{cite book|last1=Greig|first1=K|last2=Walter|first2=R|last3=Matisoo-Smith|first3=L|title=The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands|publisher=Routledge |location=Oxford UK|editor=Marc Oxenham |editor2=Hallie Buckley|year=2016|pages=471–475|isbn=978-1-138-77818-4|chapter=21–Dogs and People in South East Asia and the Pacific|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=g8z4CgAAQBAJ|page=471}}}}</ref>

<ref name=gollan1984>Gollan, K (1984) The Australian Dingo:in the shadow of man. In ''Vertebrate Geozoography and Evolution in Australasia:Animals in Space and Time'' M Archer and G Clayton (eds.). p921-927 Hesperian Press, Perth</ref>

<ref name=ireland1947>{{cite journal|last1=Ireland|first1=Tom|title=THE SCIENTIFIC NAME OF THE DINGO|journal=Proc. Roy. Zool. Soc. N.S.W.|issue=1946/1947 |year=1947|pages=34|url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofroy67194roya/proceedingsofroy67194roya_djvu.txt}}</ref>

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<ref name=jackson2003>{{Harvnb|Jackson|2003|pp=381–407}}</ref>

<ref name=jackson2015>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Stephen|last2=Groves|first2=Colin|title=Taxonomy of Australian Mammals|publisher=CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia|year=2015|pages=287–290|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPznCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA288|isbn=978-1-4863-0013-6}}</ref>

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<ref name=lyndall2012>{{cite book|author=Ryan, Lyndall|year= 2012|title=Tasmanian Aborigines|publisher=Allen & Unwin, Sydney|pages=3–6|isbn=978-1-74237-068-2}}</ref>

<ref name=mazell1789>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00101.html#phillip-46 The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213005623/http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00101.html#phillip-46 |date=13 February 2017 }} with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island. Mazell, P. & Phillip, A. (1789). J: 274–275. Phillip, A. (Ed.). London:Stockdale.</ref>

<!-- <ref name=MDD>{{cite web|title=Mammal Diversity Database|publisher=American Society of Mammalogists|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1005940|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028140029/https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1005940|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<ref name=miklosi2015>{{cite book|last1=Miklosi|first1=A.|title=Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=2|year=2015|chapter=Ch.8-Intraspecific social organization in dogs and related forms|pages=172–173|isbn=978-0-19-964666-1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VT-WBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172|access-date=28 June 2018|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817111151/https://books.google.com/books?id=VT-WBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name=milham2010>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1835-9310.1976.tb01149.x|title=Relative Antiquity of Human Occupation and Extinct Fauna at Madura Cave, Southeastern Western Australia|journal=Mankind|volume=10|issue=3|pages=175–180|year=2010|last1=Milham|first1=Paul|last2=Thompson|first2=Peter}}Original study was published in Mankind v10 p175-180 in 1976.</ref>

<ref name=meyer1793>{{cite book|author=Meyer, F.A.A.|year=1793|title=Systematisch-summarische Uebersicht der neuesten zoologischen Entdeckungen in Neuholland und Afrika: nebst zwey andern zoologischen Abhandlungen|publisher=Dykischen, Leipzig|pages=33–35|url=https://archive.org/details/systematischsumm00meye}} refer page 34. Quote: "Man weiß nicht, ob er die einzige Hundeart in Neusüdwales ist, und ob er auch noch wild sich vorfindet, indeß scheint er bis jetzt noch wenig von seinem wilden Zustande verloren zu haben; auch hat man noch keine Abarten von ihm entdeckt." Translation: "It is not known if it is the only dog species in New South Wales, and if it can also still be found in the wild state; however, so far it appears to have lost little of its wild condition; moreover, no divergent varieties have been discovered"</ref>

<ref name=monash2015>{{cite web|last=Monash University|url=http://sahultime.monash.edu.au/|title=SahulTime|access-date=2015-07-22|archive-date=12 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712204924/http://sahultime.monash.edu.au/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name=Nowak2018>{{cite book|last1=Nowak|first1=Ronald M.|title=Walker's Mammals of the World: Monotremes, Marsupials, Afrotherians, Xenarthrans, and Sundatherians|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2018|page=109|isbn=978-1-4214-2467-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoNeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814075103/https://books.google.com/books?id=GoNeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<ref name=NTPWS2006>{{cite web|url=http://www.phthiraptera.info/Publications/47180.pdf|title=A Management Program For The Dingo (''Canis lupus dingo'') in the Northern Territory Of Australia 2006—2011|website=Phthiraptera.info|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory|access-date=28 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041409/http://www.phthiraptera.info/Publications/47180.pdf|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=oneill2017>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/PC16026|title=Managing dingoes on Fraser Island: Culling, conflict, and an alternative|journal=Pacific Conservation Biology|volume=23|pages=4|year=2017|last1=O'Neill|first1=Adam J|last2=Cairns|first2=Kylie M|last3=Kaplan|first3=Gisela|last4=Healy|first4=Ernest|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=parr2016>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s11692-016-9371-x|title=Cranial Shape and the Modularity of Hybridization in Dingoes and Dogs; Hybridization Does Not Spell the End for Native Morphology|journal=Evolutionary Biology|volume=43|issue=2|pages=171|year=2016|last1=Parr|first1=William C. H|last2=Wilson|first2=Laura A. B|last3=Wroe|first3=Stephen|last4=Colman|first4=Nicholas J|last5=Crowther|first5=Mathew S|last6=Letnic|first6=Mike|bibcode=2016EvBio..43..171P |hdl=1959.4/unsworks_54976 |s2cid=15451410|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name=Perri2021>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x|title=Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage|year=2021|last1=Perri|first1=Angela R.|last2=Mitchell|first2=Kieren J.|last3=Mouton|first3=Alice|last4=Álvarez-Carretero|first4=Sandra|last5=Hulme-Beaman|first5=Ardern|last6=Haile|first6=James|last7=Jamieson|first7=Alexandra|last8=Meachen|first8=Julie|last9=Lin|first9=Audrey T.|last10=Schubert|first10=Blaine W.|last11=Ameen|first11=Carly|last12=Antipina|first12=Ekaterina E.|last13=Bover|first13=Pere|last14=Brace|first14=Selina|last15=Carmagnini|first15=Alberto|last16=Carøe|first16=Christian|last17=Samaniego Castruita|first17=Jose A.|last18=Chatters|first18=James C.|last19=Dobney|first19=Keith|last20=Dos Reis|first20=Mario|last21=Evin|first21=Allowen|last22=Gaubert|first22=Philippe|last23=Gopalakrishnan|first23=Shyam|last24=Gower|first24=Graham|last25=Heiniger|first25=Holly|last26=Helgen|first26=Kristofer M.|last27=Kapp|first27=Josh|last28=Kosintsev|first28=Pavel A.|last29=Linderholm|first29=Anna|last30=Ozga|first30=Andrew T.|last31=Presslee|first31=Samantha|last32=Salis|first32=Alexander T.|last33=Saremi|first33=Nedda F.|last34=Shew|first34=Colin|last35=Skerry|first35=Katherine|last36=Taranenko|first36=Dmitry E.|last37=Thompson|first37=Mary|last38=Sablin|first38=Mikhail V.|last39=Kuzmin|first39=Yaroslav V.|last40=Collins|first40=Matthew J.|last41=Sinding|first41=Mikkel-Holger S.|last42=Gilbert|first42=M. Thomas P.|author-link42=Marcus Thomas Pius Gilbert|last43=Stone|first43=Anne C.|last44=Shapiro|first44=Beth|last45=Van Valkenburgh|first45=Blaire|author-link45=Blaire Van Valkenburgh|last46=Wayne|first46=Robert K.|last47=Larson|first47=Greger|last48=Cooper|first48=Alan|last49=Frantz|first49=Laurent A. F.|journal=Nature|volume=591|issue=7848|pages=87–91|pmid=33442059|bibcode=2021Natur.591...87P|s2cid=231604957|url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c087f6d0-e084-4558-be53-d503697ce140|access-date=14 August 2021|archive-date=31 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231112007/https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c087f6d0-e084-4558-be53-d503697ce140|url-status=live}} Supplementary Information, page 8</ref> -->

<ref name=pierotti2017>{{Harvnb|Pierotti|Fogg|2017|pp=128–129}}</ref>

<ref name=purcellC2>{{Harvnb|Purcell|2010|pp=7–14}}</ref>

<ref name=purcellC3>{{Harvnb|Purcell|2010|pp=15–40}}</ref>

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<ref name=roseC3>{{Harvnb|Rose|1992|pp=47–49}}</ref>

<ref name=roseC6>{{Harvnb|Rose|1992|p=104}}</ref>

<ref name=roseC10>{{Harvnb|Rose|1992|p=176}}</ref>

<ref name=ryan1964>{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1964.tb00837.x|title=Plotting an Isogloss-The Location and Types of Aboriginal Names for Native Dog in New South Wales|journal=Oceania|volume=35|issue=2|pages=111–123|year=1964|last1=Ryan|first1=J. S.}}</ref>

<ref name=savolainen2004>{{cite journal|doi=10.1073/pnas.0401814101|title=A detailed picture of the origin of the Australian dingo, obtained from the study of mitochondrial DNA|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=101 |issue=33 |pages=12387–12390 |year=2004 |last1=Savolainen |first1=P. |last2=Leitner |first2=T. |last3=Wilton |first3=A. N. |last4=Matisoo-Smith |first4=E. |last5=Lundeberg |first5=J. |pmid=15299143 |pmc=514485 |bibcode=2004PNAS..10112387S|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=Shipman2020>{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/ar.24517|title=What the dingo says about dog domestication|year=2020|last1=Shipman|first1=Pat|journal=The Anatomical Record|volume=304|issue=1|pages=19–30|pmid=33103861|pmc=7756258|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=simpson2008>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/2008/11/sydney_language_mb_m_and_dingo.html|title=Sydney Language -mb- ~ -m- and dingo – David Nash|last1=Simpson|first1=Jane|date=14 November 2008|website=Transient Languages & Cultures|publisher=The University of Sydney|access-date=6 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307055035/http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/2008/11/sydney_language_mb_m_and_dingo.html|archive-date=7 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=smithC1>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|pp=xi–24}} Chapter 1 – Bradley Smith</ref>

<ref name=smithC2>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|pp=25–54}} Chapter 2 – Bradley Smith</ref>

<ref name=smithC3>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|pp=55–80}} Chapter 3 – Bradley Smith & Peter Savolainen</ref>

<ref name=smithC5>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|pp=103–130}} Chapter 5 – Rob Appleby</ref>

<ref name=smithC11>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|pp=277–300}} Chapter 11 – Bradley Smith & Lyn Watson</ref>

<ref name=smith49>{{Harvnb|Smith|2015|p=49}} Chapter 2 – Bradley Smith</ref>

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<ref name=smith2017b>{{cite journal|doi=10.1071/ZO17040|title=Brain size/body weight in the dingo (Canis dingo): Comparisons with domestic and wild canids|journal=Australian Journal of Zoology |volume=65 |issue=5 |page=292 |year=2017 |last1=Smith |first1=Bradley P. |last2=Lucas |first2=Teghan A. |last3=Norris |first3=Rachel M. |last4=Henneberg |first4=Maciej|s2cid=90027959}}</ref>

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}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last1=Corbett|first1=L.|title=The Dingo in Australia and Asia|publisher=J B Books|year=1995|isbn=978-1-876622-30-5|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=iwwsAQAACAAJ}}}}
* {{cite book|last1=Fleming|first1=P.|last2=Corbett|first2=L.|last3=Harden|first3=R.|last4=Thomson|first4=P.|title=Managing the impacts of dingoes and other wild dogs|publisher=Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra|year=2001|isbn=978-0-642-70494-8|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267452495}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=S. |title=Australian Mammals: Biology and Captive Management |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria, Australia |year=2003 |chapter=12–Dingo |pages=381–407 |chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=bBoVViPkCUAC}} |isbn=978-0-643-06635-9 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Stephen|last2=Groves|first2=Colin|title=Taxonomy of Australian Mammals|publisher=CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia|year=2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPznCQAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1-4863-0013-6}}
* {{cite book|last1=Pierotti|first1=R.|last2=Fogg|first2=B.|title=The First Domestication: How Wolves and Humans Coevolved|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0-300-22616-4|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=aq88DwAAQBAJ}}}}
* {{cite book|last1=Purcell|first1=B.|title=Dingo|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-0-643-09693-6|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=3hrngqimBfMC}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Rose|first=D.|title=Dingo Makes Us Human: Life and Land in an Australian Aboriginal Culture|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|isbn=978-0-521-39269-3|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=3GI4AAAAIAAJ}}}}
* {{cite book|title=The Dingo Debate: Origins, Behaviour and Conservation|publisher=CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=Bradley|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4863-0030-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j6omCgAAQBAJ|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=3 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303093953/https://books.google.com/books?id=j6omCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies|Canis lupus dingo}}
{{Wiktionary|Dingo}}
* {{cite web|ref=none |first=Ashlee |last=Aldridge |title=Purebred dingo that dropped out of the sky thrives in new sanctuary home |website=ABC News |date=12 April 2020 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-12/dingo-that-fell-out-of-sky-into-backyard-doing-well-in-sanctuary/12143496 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}
* {{cite web|ref=none |first=Emma |last=Sleath |title=Dingo not strictly a wolf...or a dog |website=ABC News |date=2 April 2014 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/04/02/3976721.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}
* {{cite web|ref=none |first=Giselle |last=Wakatama |title=Friend or foe? Scientists and farmers divided on importance of dingoes |website=ABC News |date=9 April 2020 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-09/friend-or-foe-scientists-and-farmers-divided-on-dingoes/12132636 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} 
* {{cite web|ref=none |first=Ben |last=Westcott |title=Stray puppy found in rural Australian backyard is actually a purebred dingo |date=4 November 2019 |publisher=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/04/australia/australian-dingo-eagle-wandi-intl-hnk-scli/index.html}}
* {{cite web|ref=none |title=Dingo fence study shows dingo extermination leads to poorer soil |website=Phys.org |date=9 May 2017 |url=https://phys.org/news/2017-05-dingo-extermination-poorer-soil.html}}
* {{cite web|ref=none |title=Dingo's origins tracked by mitochondrial DNA |publisher=BBC News |date=2 August 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3529010.stm}}

{{Primitive dogs}}
{{Portal bar|Mammals}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q38584}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Canis lupus dingo]]
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Australia]]
[[Category:Dog landraces]]
[[Category:Dog types]]
[[Category:Fauna naturalised in Australia]]
[[Category:Feral dogs]]
[[Category:Apex predators]]
[[Category:Landraces of Oceania]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1793]]
[[Category:Mammals of Queensland]]
[[Category:Mammals of South Australia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Subspecies of Canis lupus]]
[[Category:Vulnerable fauna of Australia]]
[[Category:Controversial mammal taxa]]