Dingo encounters…

Author Andrew Turner ◦

Since living in Central Australia, we have crossed paths with dingoes many times… and grown very fond of the Canis dingo (formerly Canis lupus dingo).

We learnt about dingoes when we saw the “dog fence” at The Breakaways in South Australia. From here, stretching into the distance is the longest fence and also the longest man made structure in the world. It stretches from the Great Australian Bight in the far-western South Australia and all the way to the Queensland coast. Erected in the 1950s, this 5,300 km “Dog Fence” is sometimes referred to as the “Dingo Fence”, and was built to protect the sheep-growing areas in the south from the dingoes and is still maintained today.

The signage was interesting to read… but now more and more people believe dingoes should not be culled and should actually be protected.

The native Australian Dingo gets a bad rap through no fault of its own, often being lumped together with dogs (in particular so called “wild dogs”). Whilst both belong to the family Canidae, genus Canis, they are not the same, for starters, dingoes howl, whilst dogs bark. Dingoes breed once a year, unlike the domestic dogs that can breed twice a year. Most dingoes live in packs of 3-12 and it is only the alpha male and female that mate. Dingoes are characterised by short coats, erect ears, and have a characteristic skull shape and teeth.

Dingoes are considered an “apex predator”. Whilst they are opportunistic hunters, and will scavenge food, their diet is mainly meat based, that include kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, native and small mammals (such as rabbits and rodents), feral pigs, lizards and birds. On K’gari (formerly named as Fraser Island), fish form part of the dingo’s diet. In the top end of Australia, dingoes are known to hunt water buffalo.

Our time in Alice Springs and Central Australia has provided us with many special encounters with the dingo in the wild, just doing their thing.

One such encounter was whilst driving from Ormiston Gorge to Alice Springs along Namijira Drive. It was an overcast drizzly day, and we passed a dingo that appeared by the side of the road, took a piss and casually started walking up Namijira Drive.

Another amazing interaction we had with a dingo was on a particularly hot day, when we were at the Ellery Creek Big Hole (a permanent waterhole in the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park). A dingo had casually walked down to the waterhole and into the water, relaxing and enjoying the water without a care in the world… then once it had enough, it got up and wandering off, passing other human bathers who were also at the waterhole.

On another occasion, at the same waterhole, we were most fortunate to see a couple of young dingoes arrive, enjoying themselves at Ellery Creek Big Hole…

One of the great places in Central Australia to visit is Watarrka National Park and Kings Canyon. We often did trips out to the Wartarka National Park and have stayed at the resort a number of times, and sure enough we would see a dingo. When staying at one of the cabins at the resort, we were advised not to leave our footwear outside the cabin, as the dingoes often had fun with the footwear, with many a boot going missing.

Some of our favourite moments, have been with young dingoes. We have been fortunate getting up close to some dingo pups that were being cared for… and love sharing the baby photos…

Of course, if you are in Alice Springs, take the time to visit the Alice Springs Desert Park. Sometimes it is just luck having an encounter with a dingo pup.

The Alice Springs Desert Park also have a dingo enclosure, and at various times of the year, have been known to present their dingoes as part of the outdoor amphitheatre show or even walking around the park with the rangers.

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Check out other blogs by Andrew Turner.