Dingos
| Australian dingo Temporal range: 0.010–0 Ma Early Holocene – Recent |
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| A male dingo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | C. lupus |
| Subspecies: | C. l. dingo |
| Trinomial name | |
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Canis lupus dingo
(alternate: Canis dingo) |
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| Dingo range in Australia | |
(alternate: Canis dingo)
(Meyer, 1793)
The dingo (Canis dingo) is a wild canine found in Australia. Its exact ancestry is unknown, but dingoes are classified as their own unique canine species. The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and plays an important role as an apex predator. However, the dingo is seen as a pest by farmers due to attacks on animals. Conversely, their predation on rabbits, kangaroos and rats may be of benefit to graziers.
For some Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. The introduction of the dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two thousand years ago, although a recent study challenges this view. Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave paintings.
The dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to an essential supply of water. Despite being an efficient hunter, it is listed as vulnerable to extinction. It is proposed that this is due to susceptibility to genetic pollution: a controversial concept according to which interbreeding with domestic dogs may dilute the dingo's unique adaptations to the Australian environment.
The name dingo comes from the Dharug language used by the Indigenous Australians of the Sydney area. It was used to describe their camp dogs during the first contact with Europeans. The variants include "tin-go" for a bitch, "din-go" for a dog, and "wo-ri-gal" for a big dog. The dingo has been given different names in the Indigenous Australian languages, including joogong, mirigung, noggum, boolomo, papa-inura, wantibirri, maliki, kal, dwer-da, kurpany, aringka, palangamwari, repeti and warrigal. The people of the Yarralin, Northern Territory region call those dingoes that live with them walaku, and those that live in the wilderness ngurakin.
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Wikipedia