Dingoes are believed to have been introduced into Australia by Aboriginal peoples between 4,600 and 18,300 thousand years ago and may have come from ancient domestic dogs in East Asia. The dingo's status as a native or introduced species in Australia has been a controversy. According to Miike Letnic of the University of New South Wales, the dingo, as Australia's top predator, has an important role in maintaining the balance of nature. Where dingoes had been excluded by the fence dingo fence, Letnic found reduced biodiversity, with fewer native mammals. Wikipedia.
There are no dingoes in Tasmania.
A few facts about Dingoes, they do not bark like a dog but howl, chortle, yelp, whine, growl, chatter, snort, cough and purr.
They have a broad diet including fresh meat, fish, eggs and carrion.
They have a strict social hierarchy and regularly mate for life.
Their breeding cycle, March to June.
They bite humans sometimes and have been known to take babies.
These photos are borrowed. I have photos of dingoes, but they are not as good as these.
Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne.
DeleteThey look really just like normal dogs...but howl like wolves. How interesting!
ReplyDeleteThey do look like dogs, but they can be dangerous at times, especially towards children, not always.
DeleteAmazing animals. They do look like dogs so it would be hard to tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteYes they do look exactly like some breeds of dogs, the unexpecting person might get a bit of a shock, maybe.
DeleteI just know I would get bitten trying to pet one. lol
ReplyDeleteWell you may not as some would be tame, and the Aboriginal people have them hanging around in some areas with them.
DeleteAnd their numbers are in serious decline. I wonder just how many pure bred dingoes we have left.
ReplyDeleteHave no idea how many left, but there are many of Frazer Island (K'gari) EC. There are about 200 with 25-30 stable packs, each containing 3-12 individuals. So I read. Interesting.
DeleteI would never be able to tell the difference. They look so similar to dogs.
ReplyDeleteFor many people they wouldn't be able to tell especially if they had no idea what a Dingo looked like.
DeleteKnown to take babies? Has there been more than the one tragedy?
ReplyDeleteNo other babies that I know of Hels, only the one. Dingoes do sometimes attack children. They can exhibit destructive and aggressive behaviours they are also good diggers apparently.
DeleteFurther Hels from Wikipedia;
In the wake of these attacks, it emerged that there had been at least 400 documented dingo attacks on K'gari. Most were against children, but at least two were on adults. For example, in April 1998, a 13-month-old girl was attacked by a dingo and dragged for about one metre (3 ft) from a picnic blanket at the Waddy Point camping area. The child was dropped when her father intervened.
In July 2004, Frank Cole, a Melbourne pensioner, claimed that he had shot a dingo in 1980 and found a baby in its mouth. After interviewing Cole on the matter, police decided not to reopen the case. He claimed to have the ribbons from the jacket which Azaria had been wearing when she disappeared as proof of his involvement. However, Lindy Chamberlain claimed that the jacket had no ribbons on it. Cole's credibility was further damaged when it was revealed he had made unsubstantiated claims about another case.
So we don't really know as the evidence isn't the best.
I like the photographs you've used here.
ReplyDeleteThey look so similar to dogs.
All the best Jan
Thank you Jan, these photos are much better than mine. They are also referred to as a dog by some.
DeleteDingoes are fascinating creatures with a complex history in Australia
ReplyDeleteVery interesting they are, I have read a heap about them and also seen them.
DeleteI have no love for these mongrel creatures. They are down right dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThey hunt in packs and are cruel to the 100% ,
They mauled a young foal that we had once - in the 1950s. The foal had to be put down. My grandparents - both of them - were all excellent shots and dispatched many to the happy hunting grounds.
They feature in that wonderful aboriginal movie - all in the local language -
TEN CANOES, The people from this area in the Northern Territory hunted them
with a vengeance.
Cheers
Colin
PS: Very cold here now at night - the days are warm and the surf in full of
surfers - the drones MUST be considered safe.
Good about the drones, can understand them being 100% safe, they have to be. So you certainly had a bad experience with the Dingoes back then, I suppose many people did in certain areas and where you used to live.
DeleteThey are such an interesting animal, and I recommend the book called 'The Way of the Dingo', by Sid Wright.
ReplyDeleteI find them interesting Andrew. Thanks for the recommendation, found that book on eBay.
DeleteWe have not come in contact with dingoes so far.
ReplyDeleteBe careful if you do.
DeleteUy que lindos. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteThank you and the same to you too.
DeleteThey look a bit like a cross between a regular dog and a chihuahua. They have their place, but I don't think they should be kept as pets. When my oldest was a toddler we had a kitten for her and the neighbours had a dingo as a pet, he jumped the low fence and ate the kitten one morning while my baby was out there playing, I raced down the back stairs and brought her inside quick smart! I told the neighbours and soon after the dingo disappeared.
ReplyDeleteGosh, rather a scary story and experience. Certainly not to be trusted.
DeleteI have never seen dingoes in real life.
ReplyDeleteNot even in a zoo.
The photos are very beautiful.
Greetings Irma
Thank you Irma.
DeleteWow, dingoes are so interesting! I didn’t know they don’t bark, but howl and chortle instead. It’s amazing how important they are for the ecosystem. This kind of reminds me of the story from A Cry in the Dark about the dingo taking a baby. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat's called in Australia and New Zealand, 'Evil Angels'. It's based on what happened to Lindy and Michael Chamberlain the disappearance of their baby daughter, Lindy said a 'dingo took my baby'.
DeleteHello Margaret,
ReplyDeleteGreat post about these Dingoes.
Very interesting to read about how they live.
Many greetings,
Marco
They are an interesting creature Marco.
Deletethanks
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteThey are so pretty. So that dingo's got your baby is a real thing then, eh? Back where we use to hike we had to watch out the kids didn't get taken by mountain lions.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's real thing and did happen.
DeleteCan understand when hiking you are looking for mountain lions.
Interesante publicación. Y muy buenas fotos.
ReplyDeleteBuen fin de semana Margaret.
Un abrazo.
Thank you Laura. You too.
Deletethank you very much!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome.
DeleteVery interesting, I didn't know this breed.
ReplyDeleteBest regards
Thank you. At times they are dangerous Jose.
DeleteI cannot help but think of the movie "A Cry in the Dark" anytime I hear the about Dingos.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, that's the movie based on what happened.
DeleteWow do they steal babies????They look so cute💖
ReplyDeleteYes one did that we know of, I guess there were more back in the past Anita.
DeleteFascinating post, such a beautiful animal.
ReplyDeleteThey do look like that as the photo shows.
DeleteThis is a fascinating summary of the dingo's complex place in Australia’s natural and cultural history. The contrast between their ecological importance and the public perception shaped by rare but tragic incidents is striking. Their unique vocalizations and social structures make them all the more intriguing. It’s also interesting how their absence in Tasmania may have influenced the island’s own ecological balance.
ReplyDeleteI shared a new post; you are invited to read: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2025/04/amazing-guidingcross-hoodie-testimony-faith-hope.html Thank you.
Tasmania's separation from mainland Australia due to rising sea levels created a natural barrier that dingoes, who arrived in mainland Australia later, could not cross.
DeleteThat's why we don't have them on our Island, Melody.
It was very enjoyable learning more of the dingo. Thank you Margaret :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Denise.
DeleteFascinating. Never really knew much about dingoes.
ReplyDeleteNo reason for you to know about them Hena. I don't know 'things' about many of your animals where you live either.
DeleteA convivência entre humanos e animais favorece a biodiversidade.
ReplyDeleteMas se os dingos são mortalmente perigosos para os seres humanos urge pensar duas vezes.
Abraço de amizade.
Juvenal Nunes
Certainly one must think twice when in the area where dingoes are, however, on Frazer Island off the coast of Queensland there are many dingoes and humans who go and visit, sometimes we here of problems with a dingo and many times we don't here of anything happening.
DeleteThey are a nice looking creature, I learnt about them when I did my post about them last year
ReplyDeleteInteresting creatures Jo-Anne.
Delete"take babies."
ReplyDeletejesus christ. I was gonna say how cute, but I think I better not.
We know of one baby a dingo took, many others have been report but not proven. They do looks beautiful the dingoes, but you have to be aware of them.
DeleteReally enjoyed reading this post! Your insights are always so well-researched and thoughtfully written. Speaking of thoughtful services, I recently came across a fantastic Halal Food Caterer that offers delicious and authentic options—perfect for any event!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't trust them at all.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful and interesting and actually very similar to normal dogs, but since they are wild animals and can be aggressive and dangerous we must stay away from their places.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!