Both male and female dingoes take responsibility for rearing their
young.
Both parents will collect food for their pups, traveling long
distances from the burrow and leaving potential prey nearby and
untouched, so the pups can later learn to hunt it for themselves, but is the female dingo who provides them with milk.
Although fully weaned, a pup may still approach its mother for
regurgitated food.
For as long as people have been breeding and keeping livestock, protection of the herd has always been an issue. Domesticated animals don’t usually have the instincts to avoid predation and they are often at risk of being killed by coyotes, wolves, big cats and wild dogs while grazing in the open. Since long before the invention of firearms, ranchers and shepherds have used guard dogs to protect their herds. Always vigilant, these dogs keep a watchful eye for unwelcome visitors and will place themselves between the hunter and the herd to protect it.
As effective a guard dogs are, there are some other unlikely choices you may not be aware of.
Guard Llama - Photo by Paul Keleher
Llamas have proven to be very effective at guarding sheep. They are naturally alert and can be very territorial. If an intruder approaches, the llama can make a variety of loud calls and will herd the animals it is watching over into a small group, placing itself in between them and intruder. Llamas will chase and kick those who get to close and have even been known to kill coyotes and dogs to protect the herd. They are fairly low maintenance animals and usually work best alone. The below video shows a guard llama with its herd of goats and sheep. Donkeys are another popular choice as a guard animal as they are naturally wary of strangers and harbor a strong dislike of predatory animals, even domestic dogs. Donkeys have fantastic hearing and good eyesight as well as a loud bay that can be used to warn the herd. Like llamas, guard donkeys can and will attack threats if necessary. The video below shows a guard donkey attacking a ranch fence when strangers approach in a car. It may seem funny, but these donkeys take their jobs pretty seriously!
According to an Iowa State University study, the use of these unconventional guard animals is extremely effective, in some cases reducing predatory losses to only 7% of the herd.
While wildlife lovers will always view coyotes and dingoes as rightful residents of their habitats, to ranchers they represent a significant problem as pests. Using effective guard animals such as llamas and donkeys allows ranchers to protect their herds from predators without resorting to killing the predators, which seems like a win-win situation for everyone.
Living largely independent from humans in its distribution, the dingo is a breed of dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years. Thus, in its wild form, dingoes are not by nature a pack dog. The dingo is most commonly found in the Australian mainland and where there are bodies of water as it needs to drink once a day. Temperment a bit aloof, the dingo has the unusual ability of being a great tree climber! Preying on man's livestock, the relationship between the two is untidy and quarrelsome. It is possible to domesticate a dingo if they are taken from the litter before 6 weeks of age. The term "dingo" originated during early European colonization in New South Wales and was most likely derived from the word "tingo", a term used by the aboriginal people of Port Jackson to describe their camp dogs.
The dingo is known for being Australia’s wild dog, although it is said to be descended from Asian dingoes that were introduced 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Australians consider them to be pests because there are so many of them. In fact, there are most likely more dingoes today than Europeans when they first settled the land. While there are many, studies say that one-third of southeastern Australian dingoes are interbred with domestic dogs.
I’m leaving town for Thanksgiving so will be missing a few days of daily postings. Meanwhile I thought you’d enjoy more pictures from my friend’s trip to Australia. She said these termite mounds (see picture below) were 5 feet tall! Yikes.
I’d blogged about Dingos before, but didn’t realize they could be white. I just want to bring one home… Of course, if I got to bring every animal home that I thought was cute, there would soon be no room in my house for me!
Wishing you all a great Thanksgiving with family and/or friends.
Smaller than the dingo, and perhaps a subspecies, but perhaps not since scientists are undecided, the New Guinea Singing Dog has a unique howl. The howl has been likened to the song of a Humpback whale or a bird’s call.
Another interesting fact is that their eyes reflect bright green at night.
This video gives a good look at the NGSD and discusses some issues.
Until this week, I'd never heard of these dogs. Had you?
A coyote? A wolf? A domestic dog? The Dingo, Australia’s native dog, can look like either of the three, but like the first 2 is a wild animal. If taken young (before 6 weeks) from the litter, they can be trained as pets. Dingos are good tree climbers, poor swimmers, and do not bark, but howl instead. Dingos also mate for life, an obvious difference from domesticated dogs.
When I was a teen, we talked about Dingos, but what we meant was Dingo boots. Hmm, wonder if the term originated in Australia . . .
