zooboy28
Well-Known Member
Yes, dingos and New Guinea singing dogs are similar and probably(?) descended from the same ancestor (possibly NGSD colonised NG from Australia).
Dingoes in American zoos?
- Thread starter TheMightyOrca
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Yes, dingos and New Guinea singing dogs are similar and probably(?) descended from the same ancestor (possibly NGSD colonised NG from Australia).
Interesting analogy with the mustangs. Where I live they are debated pretty frequently.
Sorry, I should have been clearer. I mean that dingoes have done as much damage as cats are doing now. When it was first released I am thinking that is must have done loads of damage to Australian biodiversity as cats and foxes are doing now.
wensleydale
Well-Known Member
I have heard arguments that Mustangs are really a reintroduction, given that Equus Ferus was present at the end of the ice age, and that they really belong in the North American environment and ought to stay there. I'd rather we kept wild horses rather then eliminating them, maybe it is time to give some Elephants a try too.
The difficulty with elephants would be where you put them. It would be like when people suggested releasing wolves into Britain. This would be even more viable than elephants because they were only wiped out in Britain recently and the exact same species still exists but even that was not approved because no one would accept wolves anywhere near them. With elephants that would be even harder to organise.
wensleydale
Well-Known Member
We have many middle of nowhere places in this country, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to find one for them. My thought is that we could put them in the middle of an Indian Reservation (out of the way reservations are numerous) and pay the Indians to keep track of them. Then we could see if they would really make grass, like that scientist reckoned they would. It might end up benefiting the herders. Maybe the Southern Part of the Navajo reservation.
zooboy28
Well-Known Member
Right, yes they would have had a negative impact, but more on larger species than the ones cats and foxes prey on.
This comment is simply not true. The presence of dingoes is proven to improve ecosystems. A study on the impacts of dingoes, foxes and cats on native species has shown the presence of dingoes in environments increases diversity and reduces the impact cats and foxes have on native species.
The study placed a number of cats in a very large enclosure. Native rodents, birds and reptiles were annihilated. Place the same number of cats in an enclosure the same size with two dingoes and all cats were killed within two months by the dingoes and the populations of smaller animals increased significantly.
Dingoes don't hunt for the sake of hunting. They hunt to eat. My dingoes will not eat unless they are hungry. They have very little smell (as in when you smell a dingoes fur it smells like whatever it has been in. They are so particular about not smelling like dingoes my oldest female actually uses a dog toilet to contain her scent. She was never taught to do this.Dingoes have longer more curved canine teeth. A hook at the base of the jaw bone that is not present in domestic dogs. The ability to rotate joints. And the ability to move their ears independently. wild or feral dogs kill for the sake of killing.
Behavioral studies of dingoes show much greater intelligence than domestic dogs and much less reliance on humans. They will seek a solution to a problem themselves where domestic breeds generally return to the owner for help. My dingoes all open milk bottle by holding the lid in their teeth and spinning the bottle with their front paws.
Although 4000 to 6000 years is the generally accepted time frame of arrival in Australia there is more and more evidence to suggest this could be pushed out as far as 18000 years.
There was a theory that dingoes could have been responsible for the extinction of thylacines which has since been disproven. Also the damage foxes and cats have done in 200 years is far far greater than the impact dingoes have had in 6,000 or so.
Just an interesting add on Dingoes play prominent roles in a number of dreamtime stories and feature in cave paintings.
Sorry. Rant over
AbileneBoy
Well-Known Member
Capital of Texas Zoo currently has 3 dingoes each a different shade. One is a cream-banana color, one more of an orange dreamsicle color, and the last is one of only 3 black dingoes in American captivity
We have many middle of nowhere places in this country, I bet it wouldn't be too hard to find one for them. My thought is that we could put them in the middle of an Indian Reservation (out of the way reservations are numerous) and pay the Indians to keep track of them. Then we could see if they would really make grass, like that scientist reckoned they would. It might end up benefiting the herders. Maybe the Southern Part of the Navajo reservation.
Because the Navajo are going to love that...
Binder Park Zoo has Dingoes, so do Toledo and DeYoung.
NGSD are pretty common in the pet trade in the U.S., I rarely see dingoes listed for sale anywhere. I'm not sure how different their care is from each other, but I'm sure dingoes could easily be kept in in more U.S. collections.
Are there dingoes at the Kansas City Zoo? Because one of the exhibits in the Australia part of the zoo had a sign on one of the exhibits that said it was a dingo. Was that a mistake? Because they were in the exhibit where the New Guinea Singing Dogs once were.