bk_blue Posted April 24, 2003 Posted April 24, 2003 [url]http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/23/1050777305759.html[/url] 'Enemy' dingoes could be wiped out April 24 2003 By Caroline Adam Dingoes could soon become extinct if attitudes towards them do not change. Researcher Gisela Kaplan, of the University of New England in Armidale, said the number of purebred native dogs was rapidly declining, and the species could become extinct in the next 50 years. "People in Australia who are working specifically with dingoes are well aware of the problem, but it's not widely known and not widely understood," she said. Australians' attitudes towards dingoes as the fierce enemy was behind the species' diminishing numbers. Professor Kaplan said attacks on livestock in rural areas, which were frequently carried out by domesticated dogs gone feral, or by hybrids of dingoes and domesticated dogs, were often incorrectly attributed to dingoes. advertisement advertisement "This kind of mauling is never dingo work," Professor Kaplan said. "They kill to feed, they don't kill to play." Innocent dingoes were being shot, and it did not help that some hybrids looked like dingoes, she said. "In most cases you don't get the culprits, you get the innocent ones." Professor Kaplan said that if a dingo was found to have mauled livestock, there was a good reason behind its behaviour, including trauma from the death of a family member. Research also showed dingoes actually preferred to eat kangaroo meat, she said. Long-term plans needed to be put in place to protect the breed that had lived in Australia for thousands of years. Professor Kaplan said the indiscriminate killing of dingoes had been a favoured response for too long. "The Australian dingo won't have a future unless there are distinct management plans for its survival," she said. - AAP :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Quote
behle Posted April 24, 2003 Posted April 24, 2003 :evil: Here's another example of mankind messing things up! :evil: Quote
jen Posted April 24, 2003 Posted April 24, 2003 :cry: :cry: :cry: ignorance playing a part in mankind making a mess of things again,this makes me so angry :evil: is there anything we can do to make people aware of the dingo`s plight? Quote
courtnek Posted April 27, 2003 Posted April 27, 2003 [quote name='jen']:cry: :cry: :cry: ignorance playing a part in mankind making a mess of things again,this makes me so angry :evil: is there anything we can do to make people aware of the dingo`s plight?[/quote] YES!! Hand them the history of the wolf in North America over the last 250 years..... It's the same story, different place.... Maybe some of our naturalists who have studied wolves for so long weould be able to explain it to them. It took a long time here, but people have finally come to the realization that the wolf is not the enemy... :evil: Quote
jen Posted April 27, 2003 Posted April 27, 2003 what a good idea :kciuki: , when is mnkind going to stop listening to scare-mongers, stop being so narrow minded and check out the true facts before they pronounce war on yet another animal. :evil: ignorance of this nature makes me furious :evil: :evil: Quote
imported_Debbie Posted April 27, 2003 Posted April 27, 2003 Jen you are so right.... Mankind has always tried to kill and destroy what it doesn't know or is afraid of. The childrens movie "Beauty and the Beast" is a good example. The Beast did no wrong but the villagers gossip and fear caused them to want to destroy him. :evilbat: Maybe more adults should watch childrens movies....... :wink: Quote
Aroura Posted April 28, 2003 Posted April 28, 2003 I've no doubt they will do something about it, but not until the numbers have declined that much that the gene pool is so small and they will probably loose the species anyway. Good old UNE!!!! Maybe I could team up with Gisela and get the word out? We've had a problem with pure dingo numbers for years, another case of people not desexing their dogs creating havok for our country :-? Quote
ellieangel Posted April 28, 2003 Posted April 28, 2003 Surely the dingo's were there first !!! :roll: Even if it was them attacking livestock-and it sounds like it isn't-surely it's down to the farmer to protect his livestock ! We moved onto their land they didn't ask to be invaded !!! Quote
Rowie-the-Pooh Posted April 28, 2003 Posted April 28, 2003 [quote name='ellieangel'] We moved onto their land they didn't ask to be invaded !!![/quote] Exactly! :o I mean, they get invaded of thier natural habitat, shot, poisned, mixed with other dogs..Etc. It wasn't thier falt and look what happenes! Dingo's are one of my most favorite wild animal ever! I have a thing for "doggish" animals. Wolves, dingo's, foxes, jackles...Etc. Thier just sooo beautiful and clever! :D It would be SUCH a shame if they get extinct :cry: Quote
jen Posted April 28, 2003 Posted April 28, 2003 [quote name='Rowie-the-Pooh'][quote name='ellieangel'] We moved onto their land they didn't ask to be invaded !!![/quote] Exactly! :o I mean, they get invaded of thier natural habitat, shot, poisned, mixed with other dogs..Etc. It wasn't thier falt and look what happenes! Dingo's are one of my most favorite wild animal ever! I have a thing for "doggish" animals. Wolves, dingo's, foxes, jackles...Etc. Thier just sooo beautiful and clever! :D It would be SUCH a shame if they get extinct :cry:[/quote] [color=red][size=6]excatly[/size][/color], this is so true, Iagree with you two totally Quote
jen Posted April 28, 2003 Posted April 28, 2003 [quote name='Debbie']Jen you are so right.... Mankind has always tried to kill and destroy what it doesn't know or is afraid of. The childrens movie "Beauty and the Beast" is a good example. The Beast did no wrong but the villagers gossip and fear caused them to want to destroy him. :evilbat: Maybe more adults should watch childrens movies....... :wink:[/quote] i think you may have something there :lol: ,i with you on this one :wink: Quote
Aroura Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Hey, just got the local paper. Theres an article in it about a book the she and another professer at uni wrote called "Spirit of the Wild Dog". Apparently it focuses mostly on dingos etc and says about the whole domestic dogs killing the cattle thing. Lets hope this book pushes people in the right direction and educates them enough so they can spread the word! "Spirit of the wild dog asks us to preserve their spirit of freedom in the wild while acknowledging out enormous debt to them"... well said me thinks... Quote
Malamum Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Has anyone read the book "The Loop" by Nicholas Evans? It is a very good read and I thoroughly recommend it. From the Book Jacket: A pack of wolves makes a sudden savage return to the Rocky Mountain ranching town of Hope, Montana, where a century earlier they were slaughtered by the thousands. Now shielded by law as an endangered species, they reawaken an ancient hatred that will tear a family, and ultimately the town, apart. At the center of the storm is Helen Ross, a twenty-nine-year-old wolf biologist sent alone into this remote and hostile place to protect the wolves from those who seek to destroy them. The Loop charts her struggle, and her dangerous love affair with the son of her most powerful opponent, the brutal and charismatic rancher Buck Calder. A haunting exploration of man's conflict with nature and the wild within himself, an epic story of deadly passions and redemptive love set against the grandeur of the American West, The Loop is destined to capture the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere. Quote
ellieangel Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Yes I've read it it's brilliant !! :thumbs: Quote
StarFox Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 I thought that Dingoes were NOT native to Austrailia. I thought that they were brought there from asia. Sooo technicaly they arn't native animals. I also relize that the reason for the large population of Digoes is caused by European dogs that were brought to australia also. I am in NO way condoning(sp?) any killings of the Dingo. I feel sorry for them because they are just doing what comes natural to them and they are being killed in horrible ways for it. I just thought that it was an interesting fact that they arn't a native species and were introduced. [url]http://home.mira.net/~areadman/dingo.htm[/url] [url]http://www.warangers.asn.au/history.htm[/url] Quote
ellieangel Posted April 30, 2003 Posted April 30, 2003 Thanks for the links starfox :) Beautiful pictures I hope they will be protected :cry: Quote
bk_blue Posted May 1, 2003 Author Posted May 1, 2003 Here's some more info on the dingo- it's actually very interesting, from this site: [url]http://www.wwwins.net.au/dingofarm/02.html[/url] Canis lupus familiaris dingo. The origins of the Dingo are obscure. It is not truly native to Australia but is thought to have arrived between 3500 and 4000 years ago. The oldest Dingo fossil found has been carbon dated at 3450 years old - the approximate era at which rock engravings of Dingoes also appear in Aboriginal art. Dingoes have never been on the island State of Tasmania which separated from the mainland some 10,000 years ago. According to latest DNA testing, Dingoes evolved 135,000 years ago and were the world's first domestic dog, predating the wolf. A 'marker' has been found in the Dingo which is not present in the wolf, making the Dingo a separate species. It is believed that the Dingo is the ancestor of all dog breeds, the base stock of the 600 true dog breeds. Currently there are two scientific theories as to the Dingoes origins and arrival in Australia. One is that the closest relatives of the Dingo were dogs bred on the delta of the Indus River in India 3000 years ago. This theory believes that the Dingo was domesticated and reached Australia via Timor with Indian Traders. The second theory is that the Dingo is closely related to the semi wild dogs widely distributed throughout south east Asia and that the Dingo accompanied sea farers to Australia. It is likely that the Dingo was traded to the Aborigines or, having been semi domesticated in Asia, it chose to associate with the natives for the benefits of a mutual association. Whatever its origins, the Dingo was a highly valued companion to the Aborigines - they lived, ate and hunted with their human keepers. They were their bed warmers, camp cleaners, hunting companions and guard dogs. The Aborigines took puppies from wild litters each breeding season, but upon reaching maturity most of these dogs reverted to the wild lifestyle. Puppies were often suckled by the women of the tribe. Dingo Farm has the original glass negative of this photo taken in 1890. Given to Bruce Jacobs by the great grandson of the photographer, it can be used by natural history researchers and documentary makers. There's a pic at the site- wow is all I can say. :angel: Quote
bk_blue Posted May 1, 2003 Author Posted May 1, 2003 Ohhh I had to post this too- the cutest thing ever! :D [img]http://www.wwwins.net.au/dingofarm/car.gif[/img] from [url]http://www.wwwins.net.au/dingofarm/07.html[/url] Quote
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