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AUSTRALIA-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENT
Lost pup turns out to be a rare purebred dingo
SYDNEY, Nov 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – He’s furry, playful, and has puppy eyes.
It’s little wonder Wandi was mistaken for a dog when he was found in an
Australian backyard — but DNA testing has confirmed he’s a rare 100 percent
dingo.
The pup was discovered whimpering and alone in a country town in Victoria
in August with talon marks on his back, leading to speculation it could have
been dropped by a large bird of prey.
Rescuers at first thought Wandi was either a dog or a fox, but months later
DNA samples have revealed that he is in fact a purebred dingo.
Most of the creatures seen in the wild are usually, to some degree, dingo-
dog hybrids.
Australian Dingo Foundation director Lyn Watson said that when Wandi “fell
out of the sky” it was an “answer to a prayer” — he can now join 40 other
dingoes in a breeding program at the charity’s sanctuary.
“When we sent his DNA off we were hoping that he would be of high content,
but we were pleasantly surprised to find he was as much dingo as you could
get,” she told AFP.
Watson hopes Wandi — whose unusual origins story and endearing looks have
attracted global attention — will help recast the narrative surrounding
dingoes and change government policies toward the much-maligned animal.
There is currently much debate in the scientific community over the
classification of dingoes, believed to have come to Australia from Asia about
4,000 years ago.
While some consider the dingo to be a wild dog, many researchers now
believe it is a separate species with a range of characteristics that
differentiate it from domestic and feral canines.
Often thought of as a threat to domestic animals and livestock, some also
argue the apex predator is helpful in controlling pests such feral cats and
foxes, as well as numbers of native herbivores such as kangaroos.
This uncertainty has major consequences for the conservation of dingoes.
The species is protected in areas where it is considered a threatened
species vulnerable to extinction, but elsewhere listed as a pest that can be
controlled through measures such as shooting and baiting.
Though rare, there have also been a number of recorded attacks on humans —
mostly at the popular tourist destination of Fraser Island.
Wandi, who was named after the town of Wandiligong where he was rescued, is
now settling in to his new home at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary near
Melbourne.
“He’s very bright and he seems to be very friendly with all of our
volunteers — of course they all dote on him,” Watson said.
But with legal restrictions on releasing dingoes into the wild, the pup may
have to live out his days in captivity — though Watson is optimistic that
attitudes will eventually shift to allow him to roam free. “We know the day
will come when we come to our senses and fully understand the situation in
the wild and that there should be dingoes there,” she said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1424 hrs