Dingo
Dingoes play a crucial role as Australia's largest mammalian carnivore and an apex predator
The impact of dingoes on the environment can have both positive and negative aspects. Understanding the role of dingoes in the ecosystem is essential for the future of Australian conservation and land management
In 2007, Arid Recovery established Australia's largest research paddock dedicated to dingoes (Canis lupus dingo). The 37-km2 Dingo Paddock was built north of the Dingo Fence to facilitate landscape-scale experiments in a controlled environment. Within this paddock, two dingoes were introduced to help researchers gain insight into the interaction between dingoes, feral cats, and foxes.
A Brief History of Dingoes in Australia
The history of the dingo in Australia began 3,500 -5,000 years ago when they were brought to the continent by either early agriculturalists, hunter-gatherers or sea-faring traders. Genetic evidence suggests that dingoes likely originated from southern China and spread through Southeast Asia before arriving in Australia.
Once on the Australian mainland, dingoes became deeply embedded in Indigenous cultures. They served as companions, aids in hunting, and integral parts of spiritual and social life. Indigenous Australians incorporated dingoes into their kinship structures, and archaeological findings of dingo burials indicate a long-standing relationship between the two.
Following the extinction of the thylacine on the mainland approximately 3,200 years ago, dingoes became Australia's apex predator. Their presence significantly impacted the continent's ecosystems, influencing populations of other species, including kangaroos and small mammals.
The arrival of Europeans around 240 years ago marked a turning point. European settlers introduced livestock such as sheep and cattle, alongside invasive species like rabbits, cats, and foxes, which have since wreaked havoc on native wildlife. To protect their livestock, settlers heavily persecuted dingoes, leading to their near elimination in many areas, including New South Wales, Victoria, southeastern South Australia, and southern Western Australia.
One of the most significant responses to the dingo threat was the construction of the Dog Fence, completed in 1885. This 5,614-kilometer-long barrier stretches from southeastern Queensland to southwestern South Australia and remains one of the world's longest man-made structures. It demarcates regions where dingoes are most heavily controlled, particularly to the south of the fence, and it runs directly through the Arid Recovery Reserve.
The Dog Fence is one of the World's largest man-made structures
The Australian Dog Fence is 5,614-km from the south west of South Australia to the south-east of Queensland. (Image source: www.digidrift.com)
What has Arid Recovery leant?
Dingoes can control feral foxes and cats
In 2008, two wild dingoes were released into a controlled area known as the Dingo Pen. The following year, six foxes and seven feral cats were introduced into the same area, each fitted with a GPS collar to track their movements every two hours. Within 17 days, the dingoes had killed all seven foxes. The feral cats survived longer, but all six died within 103 days, with dingoes involved in at least three of these deaths.
In this study, the primary method by which dingoes suppressed the cat and fox populations was through direct physical attacks rather than by limiting their breeding or access to resources. The dingoes did not eat the animals they killed. Instead, they stayed near the carcasses for several hours and sometimes returned in the following days. This behavior indicates that the killings were due to competition rather than for food. These findings support a body or research that deomonstrates that dingoes help control populations of invasive species like foxes and feral cats.