The Dingo

The dingo first came to Australia about 8000 years ago we are told - that gives it a 7,800 year lead on the European settlers - and is a subject of considerable controversy.

In South Australia any dingo found south of the dingo fence is liable to be destroyed by act of law, the law arose from the early farming days when the dingo was accused of killing farmers' sheep , stealing chickens or whatever else took their fancy . How often this happened I do not know but it was apparently often enough for the powers of the day to erect a fence that runs some thousands of kilometres from east to west of Australia to try to keep the dingo out of the farming lands - this fence is still in existence today and is still maintained - it is not as old as the Great Wall of China nor as substantial but I believe it compares in length.

More recently there was the controversial and tragic case of the Azaria Chamberlain disappearance attributed to dingoes.

For all that the dingo is really just a dog - Australia's own native dog - and like any dog , if it is hungry enough it will eat whatever it needs to eat to survive.

The two dogs at the Moonta Wildlife Park are , by law, locked up in a secure compound, but they are as friendly as your average neighbourhood pooch longing to be patted and talked to - the greatest difficulty I faced trying to video them was that they kept coming up to the fence seeking my attention

Now that is quite a mouth ! No she was not growling just yawning that giant yawn that any dog will do when they are embarassed - or was I boring her?

The lighter coloured dog is the lady of the team

And the darker dog thinks she is as nice as they come

If ever you wanted proof of their "doggy" nature - seriously though most folks would pass a dingo on the street and not even realise it was anything but another dog - which it is - but with a bad PR service.

Trotting up to the fence in as friendly a way as possible - these particular dogs are very friendly - and well fed!

I think you will agree they are quite a handsome dog - some of the poor creatures in the wild are barely recognisable as the same breed because of their harsh living conditions.

Update 19th September 1999

I was able to photograph the three pups recently arrived on the scene

As it seems in every litter there is one adventurous spirit who boldly leads while the siblings wait their turn here the boldest of the pups has left the lair and is climbing up to be with mum

To the bold go the rewards - shortly after Mum told him he was out of line and it was not feed time.

Looking out to see if I am friend or foe

Just enjoying the sunshine - this photo was taken from within the enclosure - which I found an interesting and stimulating experience. Although I protest no fear of dingoes ,they are, like all animals with young, to be a bit wary of when pups are involved. As I was taking this and other photos Dad dingo was pacing back and forth bristling, growling and generally carrying on like a turnip but while that didn't particularly bother me what I did find disconcerting was mother dingo coming right up to me. If I had been just standing there it wouldn't have bothered me but trying to look through the viewfinder of a video camera with one eye closed and knowing the "mum" was less than a foot from me was a little disconcerting as she never made a sound or gave any indication of her intentions - just checking me out I guess :-))

"Mum" checking out the intruder at very close range

 

The darker fellow was definitely most timid and cautious of the three.

The trio together

 

 

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