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DINGO |
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First skeletal
evidence of the Dingo in Australia was dated about 3,000 years ago, indicating
its progenitor probably trudged across the land bridge about the same
time as the aborigine. The dogs and people made their trek before Australia
was cut off from the mainland to be surrounded by water. The Dingo was
first officially noted by Captain William Damphier, who wrote of the wild
dog in 1699.
A direct descendant
of the original pariahs from the Middle East and southeastern Asia, the
Dingo became feral and returned to the wild. There these canines have
remained to the present as one of the only mammals native to Australia.
Aborigines adopted pups into their tribes from time to time and raised
them as pets and assistants in the hunt. Dogs occasionally interbred with
the Dingoes, and the wild dog actually contributed to at least one modern
breed: the Australian Cattle Dog.
Today interbreeding
domestic dogs with the Dingo is frowned upon. The Australian Native
Dog never stood in good favor, since so much of Australian economy is
dependent on cattle and sheep production. The Dingo has received much
bad press as a livestock killer and is classified as vermin in his homeland,
to be killed (eliminated).
But a few
people are now concerned with the native dog as a "living fossil"
and are working toward studying and preserving him. The Australian Native
Dog Training Society, based in New South Wales, has raised and trained
many Dingoes. Their members put them on display and hold obedience and
trick demonstrations, and the society's motto is: "A Fair Go for
our Dingo." These dogs redomesticate quite easily if raised
from a young age by a family, but retain the pariah traits of flight
and wariness. Early and continued socialization is a must to overcome
their shy and sensitive nature. Obedience training is best accomplished
by kindness, patience, and a firm but gentle hand. The Dingo chooses
a mate for life, sometimes mourning itself to death after the loss of
its partner. Females whelp one litter a year in the spring, similar
to many of the pariahs. Often a litter is found in the hollow of a tree,
totally protected from all sides, with the dams guarding the front.
Even so, whelps frequently fall prey to snakes.
Dingoes
have strong cooperative instincts and live in small packs. These groups
habitually hunt by night. They work silently and only learn to bark
from association with other canines, but they do have a wide range
of vocalizations, from high yodels to low crows and howls. To survive
in the wilderness, they have learned to play possum, shamming death.
These dogs' hardiness and resistance to heat have helped them exist
in a land that does little to succor their survival. The Dingo has
managed to exist without human intervention—and in spite of human
dislike.
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