Naming and origin:
As outlined at the beginning of this Manual, ‘wild dog’ is a collective term used for dingoes, hybrids and feral domestic dogs. In practical terms, the general biology and behaviour of these canids (members of the dog family) are so similar that it is difficult to distinguish between them.
Dingoes are considered to have descended from the Indian wolf, Canis lupus pallipes. Dingoes are still often classified as a sub-species of the domestic dog, Canis familiaris, with which they are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
However, given the wolf ancestry of dingoes and domestic dogs, it has become common in Australia to use the scientific name Canis lupus dingo for dingoes and Canis lupus familiaris for domestic dogs.
Appearance:
The dingo resembles a lean kelpie sheepdog in body form and size, with erect ears and a bushy tail. Size and weight vary according to the location. For example, on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia, the average weight for dingoes older than nine months was 15.9 kg for males and 12.7 kg for females.
At the Fortescue River, in the Pilbara region of WA, dingoes of the same age group were larger, with respective weights of 17.5 and 14.4 kg. Respective weights for adults (>21 months) at the Fortescue River were 18.9 and 15.2 kg. Dingoes are frequently ginger in colour, although black and tan and white individuals are also found.
Mixed colouration and brindling is commonly observed amongst hybrids. Dingoes typically have white points on their feet and tail-tip, though some hybrids can also display these features.
Distribution and population density:
Dingoes reached Australia about 3500–4000 years ago, most likely accompanying Asian seafarers rather than during an aboriginal migration. They are now found in all Australian States except Tasmania. In WA, dingoes are rare or absent in most closely settled areas of the South West.
The proportion of hybrid animals is generally highest closer to settled areas. In WA, the proportion of hybrids tends to be higher in the southern portion of the state, roughly below the 26th parallel. A high proportion of wild dogs in south-eastern Australia appear to be hybrids.
In the absence of control by man, dingo population densities vary according to the distribution and abundance of food and water. In the Fortescue River area, during a period of apparently adequate food supply and in the general absence of control work, densities of a little over 20 dingoes per 100 km2 were recorded (excluding pups). In more arid inland desert areas, population density is likely to be considerably less than this.
Habitat:
Dingoes have the ability to adapt to extreme heat and cold, which enables them to occupy a range of environments from semi-arid desert to sub-alpine regions. At a local scale, dingoes clearly prefer some habitats to others. For example, at the hot, arid Fortescue River area, dingoes spend proportionately more time in riverine areas than in other parts of their range.
Activity Patterns:
Dingoes seldom travel during the heat of the day, especially in the summer months. Peak activity occurs at dawn and dusk, with some activity during the night. In temperate areas, more daytime activity has been recorded.
Reproduction:
Female dingoes have a single breeding season each year. Oestrus occurs between March and June, and whelping between June and August. In the Fortescue River area, the average whelping date was 18 July.
Evidence of a reproductive cycle in males has been found, with few viable sperm being produced in summer. Hybrid animals tend to have a less distinctive seasonal timing of their reproductive cycle. The well-defined pulse of whelping characteristic of dingoes is disrupted when a large proportion of hybrids and/or feral dogs occurs in the population.
The gestation period of 63 days for dingoes is the same as that of domestic dogs. Bitches seek caves, rock piles, hollow logs, enlarged rabbit burrows or similar sheltered sites in which to whelp. Dens are usually in elevated positions, close to water. Litters average five pups, which are weaned from about two months of age.
Some young dingoes become sexually mature between 9 and 12 months of age. However, the breeding success of young dingoes is likely to be lower than that of older dingoes. Breeding success may be affected by social circumstances, such as dominance status in a pack, and the presence of potential companions to help obtain food, as well as the type and abundance of prey.
After whelping occurs, other members of the social unit help feed the pups when they begin to eat meat and are thought to provide for the bitch during early lactation. After the den is abandoned at about eight weeks (ranging between four and nine weeks) the pups are moved to a succession of sites and food is brought to them by the adults. By a
out 9 to 24 weeks of age, the pups accompany adults on forays that become progressively longer, sometimes to the sites of kills. At this stage, the litter may be split up among several adults of the pack. In the Fortescue area, pups remained with the pack. In some areas of Australia, pups appear to become largely independent of the adults by the age of four to six months.
Social behaviour:
How do wild dog packs function?
Wild dogs are social animals. Though often sighted as individuals or in pairs, wild dogs are usually organised into distinct social groups consisting of a dominant male and female and their offspring of various years.
These packs maintain and defend their territories which have very little or no overlap with those of neighbouring packs. The development, size and stability of packs appears to be related to the size and abundance of available prey.
Larger packs and strong territoriality seem to be common when kangaroos are the main prey, whereas smaller packs and less defined territories are seen in areas where rabbits are the main prey. Packs of up to 23 individuals (including young-of-the-year) were identified during the Fortescue River study, where kangaroos were the main prey.
Pack stability and the separation of adjacent packs is maintained by means of visual, vocal (howling) and scent (scats and urine) cues. Howling is heard throughout the year but becomes more frequent prior to the breeding season.
Urination and ground-scratching increase in frequency two to three months prior to the breeding season. There is no evidence to suggest that scent-marks repel other wild dogs that might encroach into the pack territory from outside.
It is rare to see all pack members together and is more common to see solitary animals or small sub-groups of two to four individuals of the pack. A dominance hierarchy exists within packs, which allows for the next animal in the order to replace the lead or ‘alpha’ dog and bitch.
This can happen through one of the leaders being killed or being out-competed by fellow pack members (usually their own offspring). Such changes in the pack rarely lead to significant changes in pack behaviour or the territory occupied. Outright fighting between pack members is rare and aggression seems to be countered by submissive postures.
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