Australia’s dingoes face ‘extinction’

[dArKeR]

Aborigines had dingoes as companions for thousands of years, but modern Australians are debating whether these unique wild dogs should be kept as household pets.

AFTER ALL, the dingoes’ role with the Aborigines was on hunting expeditions, and experts fear today’s owners are at risk of attack as dingoes grow older, and their aggressive ancient instincts take over.
They also worry that widespread domestication and mixing genes with other dogs might hasten the extinction of a pure breed that, until recently, was hunted mercilessly by white settlers as a predator of ranch animals.
“As pups they are very adorable, fluffy little balls. But five months later you’ve got something else — you’ve got the devil on your hands,” said Barrie Oakman, President of the Australian Dingo Conservation Association.

http://msnbc.com/news/974908.asp?0cv=CB20

[tom_paine]

1. Bad news.

[seventhson]

2. I have a "Mad Max" pack

They make great bodyguards and will maul anyone who threatens me, my kids or my wife.

But they ARE scary and too smart to keep easily.

It is sad that the wild dingo is going and even sadder that the aborigines have been so destroyed.

My mix breed blue heeler and her shepherd pups are sweet dogs but the wild streak IS wild.

They dance cool (wild thornberry style if you've seen the episode)

[ozone_man]

3. That's quite a nice story.

I guess you must live in Australia then. I've been lucky to visit Australia twice now, second time with wife and kids. I didn't get to see any Dingos in the outback, but my brother did. Well, he lives down there. Saw lots of other wildlife though and did alot of bush camping and hiking.

I guess that pack of Dingos keeps the solicitors away, huh?

[Polemonium]

4. Dingoes face extinction??

Good grief, sorry but that is one of the most rediculous, uninformed things I've seen in awhile. The Dingo is not rare, in fact it is fairly common throughout much of its range. Perhaps you would understand my reaction if from Australia I claimed the coyote was in danger of dissappearing in the USA. (Rediculous). The third link below is an actual list of the mammals that are critically endangered, threatened, or vulnerable. Most of these mammals are smaller marsupials, like kangaroos they raise young in a pouch. So yes the mice and rats that are listed are more like kangaroos than they are like placental mice or rats. Evolution took a unique turn in Australia, leading marsupials to fill most every ecological niche occupied by placental mammals in the USA. These mammals are truly unique, fascinating and some are in much greater danger of going completly extinct than most mammals that are listed in other parts of the world. Dingoes were brought over with the Aboriginals, and like most other mammals they are placental. While, I am sure that initially their presence wreaked havoc on the ecosystems of Australia, the ecosytems have had over 1000 years to adapt to their presence. Not so with other more recent introductions, like rabbits, foxes, and placental mice and rats, which have aided in the extinction of many species of Australian wildlife already. I am thankful for your interest in wildlife, especially Australian wildlife, but the dingo is not where your concers should lie.

http://www.science.org.au/nova/010/010key.htm

http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/information/factsheets/tsd-2003.html

http://www.animalinfo.org/country/austral.htm