Main Characteristics

Dingos are a type of wild dog. They have a body length between 72 and 110 cms (28 - 43 inches), a tail length between 21 and 36 cms (8.5 - 14 inches) and they weigh between 9 and 21.5 Kgs (20 - 47 lbs).

Dingos have a lean, athletic build and they are extremely agile. Males are larger than females and the Dingos found in Australia tend to be larger than those found in South East Asia.

Their coat is reddish/brown in colour with a paler underside, muzzle, and legs. It is short and dense in texture but it is slightly bushier on their tail. Their ears are large and pointed and their eyes are brown in colour and almond shaped.

Pure Dingos do not bark, they tend to growl, howl and whine as methods of communication.

A major problem with Dingos is the amount of inter-breeding with domestic dogs. Any variation from the reddish/brown coloured coat is a signal of inter-breeding. The range map on the right indicates the Dingo distribution. The areas of darker brown indicate areas where pure Dingos can be found and the paler brown is where there are inter-breeding uncertainties.

Habitat

Dingos are primarily found in Australia but there are also scattered populations in Thailand, South East China, Myanmar, Laos, New Guinea, Philippines, Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia.

In Australia they inhabit the plains, mountains, deserts and forests but in South East Asia they are mainly found near small villages.

They tend to be solitary animals but often they live in loose knit groups or family groups. If they are hunting larger prey they will sometimes hunt together to give them a greater chance of success.

Their territories range from 27 - 320 Kms (17 - 200 miles) and these are marked by urine.

Diet

Dingos mainly feed on small mammals, especially rabbits, kangaroos, wallabies, birds, fruit, rodents, lizards and carrion. Those that live near human inhabited areas also feed on household refuse.

Breeding

Dingos mate only once per year and after a gestation period of approximately 63 days, an average of 4 -5 pups will be born in a den.

When the pups reach 3 weeks old they will begin to venture out of their den. They are fully weaned at 8 weeks and it is at this point that they leave the den completely and begin to live with the pack.

When they reach 3 - 4 months old they will begin to accompany adults on hunts. When they reach 3 years old, males and females will pair off and stay mates throughout their lifetime.

Predators

Humans are the main predator of Dingos.

Subspecies

There are no subspecies of Dingo.

Interesting Facts

There are few pure Dingos left due to inter-breeding with the domestic dog.

Dingos are also known as:
Warrigal
Warang
Australian Wild Dog
Australian Native Dog

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