Australian wild dog
The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs and can be traced back through Maritime Southeast Asia to Asia. The oldest remains of dingoes discovered in Australia are around 3,500 years old.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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ScavengerScavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While sc...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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Pack huntersA pack hunter or social predator is a predatory animal that hunts its prey by working together with other members of its species. Normally animals ...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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Apex predatorAn apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain and has no natural predators. These animals usually occup...
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Pursuit predatorPursuit predation is a form of predation in which predators actively give chase to their prey, either solitarily or as a group. Pursuit predators r...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe dingo is a medium-sized canid with a lean, hardy body. The head is the widest part of the body, wedge-shaped, and large in proportion to the body. Captive dingoes are longer and heavier than wild dingoes, as they have access to better food and veterinary care. Compared with the dog, the dingo is able to rotate its wrists and can turn doorknobs or raise latches in order to escape confinement. Dingo shoulder joints are unusually flexible, and they can climb fences, cliffs, trees, and rocks. These adaptations help dingoes climb in difficult terrain, where they prefer high vantage points. The dingo's three main coat colours are described as being light ginger (or tan), black and tan, and creamy white. The dingo's tail is flattish, tapering after mid-length, and does not curve over the back, but is carried low.
Dingoes are found in most of Australia, but they are absent in the southeast and Tasmania. They live in a wide variety of habitats, including the temperate regions of eastern Australia, the alpine moorlands of the eastern highlands, the arid hot deserts of Central Australia, and the tropical forests and wetlands of Northern Australia.
Generally, dingoes are sociable animals, gathering in packs to mate and socialize. However, some individuals prefer living a solitary life. Dingo packs normally contain 3-12 animals, including dominant males and females, which are determined through fierce stand-offs. When gathering, these animals howl, scent mark, and come into conflict with each other. They are most active at sunrise and sunset when their prey is also active. These dogs are very territorial animals. They choose the territory not according to the size of their pack but depending on characteristics of the environment such as prey availability or terrain texture. They don't tend to bark, but they are known to howl, especially at night, attracting their pack members or scaring away intruders.
Dingoes are carnivorous animals, consuming a wide variety of food from water buffalo to insects. Dingoes are opportunistic feeders, hunting different species from mice to wallabies and kangaroos, from rats to rabbits, geese, and lizards. They can also scavenge the carcasses of dead animals. In addition, dingoes feed upon plants and fruit.
Dingoes are monogamous, mating for life. The dominant pair of the pack breeds in the group, where other members of the pack help them in bringing up their pups. The mating season of Australian dingoes lasts from March to April, whereas in southeastern Asia they mate in August-September. The period of gestation lasts about 63 days, yielding 4-5 babies on average. The female gives birth in a den. After 3 weeks, the pups start venturing out of the den. At the age of 8 weeks, the young are fully weaned. By this time, they leave the den and start living with the pack. Then, between 3 and 4 months old, the pups begin to accompany adults during the hunt. And finally, at 3 years old, dingoes mate, staying together throughout their lives.
One of the major threats to the dingo population is human persecution: in agricultural lands and pastures, these animals are frequently poisoned, trapped, and shot. Another serious threat is interbreeding between the dingo and the domestic dog. Urban development across coastal and outback areas of Australia promotes contact between these two, leading to the dilution and potential extinction of their gene pools. These animals are sold in food markets in some Asian countries, where their meat is an important source of protein for indigenous people. Also, in Indonesia and the Pacific islands, the canine of the dingo is used as decoration.
Currently, the dingo is not included on the IUCN Red List, and its conservation status has not been evaluated.
The dingo is the primary mammalian carnivore of Australia. Dingoes control populations of prey species such as the European rabbit, which is a pest throughout Australia. Dingoes compete with foxes and feral cats when preying on small animals. However, when hunting large species during times of drought, they are more successful than foxes or feral cats. Due to this, their population is high, though they are responsible for the loss of many medium-sized Australian mammal species such as rat-kangaroos, bandicoots, and macropodids.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...