#wildborn dingo

[forthedingoes]

The tracks a dingo makes when it runs across water in a clay pan. This wonderful image captured by Greg Robertson @kiaorastation when mustering in far north western NSW.

 It has now been recently established that dingoes are actually a species native to Australia, and are neither feral dogs or wolves. It is important to have this recognized and accepted internationally, but especially here in Australia where they are heavily persecuted. “The taxonomic status and systematic nomenclature of the Australian dingo remain contentious, resulting in decades of inconsistent applications in the scientific literature and in policy. Prompted by a recent publication calling for dingoes to be considered taxonomically as domestic dogs (Jackson et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317, 201-224), we review the issues of the taxonomy applied to canids, and summarise the main differences between dingoes and other canids. We conclude that (1) the Australian dingo is a geographically isolated (allopatric) species from all other Canis, and is genetically, phenotypically, ecologically, and behaviourally distinct; and (2) the dingo appears largely devoid of many of the signs of domestication, including surviving largely as a wild animal in Australia for millennia.” 

- Taxonomic status of the Australian dingo: the case for Canis dingo Meyer, 1793 

Image Source:

[forthedingoes]

I'm unsure of the details of where this photo was taken, but this appears to be a mature wild-born female desert-type dingo, probably from central australian region, going by her confirmation and colourings. Of course, dingoes come in a wide range of colours, and this is the first one people think of - sandy with white points. This is due to a number of factors - this is the most common, especially since the norm was to exclude most other colourings as dingoes, but hybrids. We now know this isn't the case, but dingo colours vary and are influenced by their environment. Sandy and white dingoes are naturally more likely to be found in sparsely vegetated areas, where the heat waves and calcification help them blend with the rocks. This girl also has a single coat layer, indicative of living in areas with high temperatures which don't drop too drastically in winter. Longer legs are suited to travelling long distances and running on arid areas, and seeing over spinifex grass, and hunting larger prey such as red/ grey kangaroo. I do hope this girl is living wild, because if she is, she's absolutely thriving.