DINGO, the Australian wild dog (Canis dingo), the only species of dog known to exist in both the wild and the domesticated states and also the only carnivorous placental mammal in Australia. It is sometimes considered as being of Asiatic origin, the theory being that it was brought to Australia by the first men who came there, and that it has since become wild. The finding of its remains in the Quaternary strata of Australia and in Pleistocene cavern deposits apparently disposes of this theory. It is not found in Tasmania or New Zealand, in which the fauna is generally like that of Australia. The dingo has decreased in numbers, retreating before the advance of civilization and suffering from the war made upon it by the settlers, whose flocks it preys upon. The animal is about two and a half feet long and nearly two feet high; has large erect ears and a bushy tail. It is tawny in color; some specimens, however, being pale and others almost black.
In the wild state it is especially crafty and courageous and hunts in packs sometimes con taining 100 dogs. The native Australians seek the young dingoes and having taken them from the lairs where they are found, bring them up as domestic animals. When well treated they are affectionate and trustworthy and are used to help their masters in hunting the animals on which the natives live— opossums, snakes, lizards, etc. While the domesticated dingo is his friend and companion, the native Australian will hunt the wild dog, kill him and, having roasted him, will eat him with a keen appetite. Consult Lydekker, 'New Natural History' (Vol. I, 1897) ; Smyth, 'The Aborigines of Victoria> (Melbourne 1878); Wheelwright, 'Bush Wanderings' (London 1865). See Doc.