Monday, July 30, 2012

8 Ways to Protect Our Native Dingoes - and Yourself!

The Dingo (a.k.a 'wild dog') has become a species very unique in Australia. Originally thought to have arrived with the first settlers, the dingo's tendency to live apart from other people and other dogs has seen them develop features and instincts different to that of any other canine. 

Mostly found in remote areas, dingoes can't live very far from water and have therefore made Fraser Island a very important home for the survival of their species. Over the years, dingoes in the region have become one of the purest strains within Australia, and Fraser Island has become one of the best areas to observe these incredible creatures in their natural habitat. It's no wonder spotting a dingo on Fraser Island is such a special experience!

As people visit Fraser Island, some dingoes have begun to lose their fear of humans and have found 'people food' such as bags of chips, fruit and loaves of bread a luring new food source. This disruption to the dingoes natural diet can be very dangerous, and Queensland Parks and Wildlife have many guidelines to help protect the dingo (and yourself!) from the new hunting and scavenging techniques they're adopting:

  1. Never feed the dingoes. Dingoes can become aggressive if they begin to rely food from you, and dingo pups may never learn important hunting skills if human food is readily available.
  2. Lock away all food and containers so Dingoes can't chew or tear your possessions when following the scent of food.
  3. Don't take food to the lake shores and beaches. It's too easy to forget or leave unattended, and it attracts dingoes into populated areas.
  4. Always stay close to children, even small teenagers! Dingoes can get excited by children running or playing, and may attack by the confusion of their behaviour.
  5. Walk in groups. Wild animals are less likely to attack if they feel the fight is unbalanced.
  6. Clean up rubbish and food scraps and never hang rubbish bags from trees or tents. Bin everything as quickly as possible, and nothing will be enticing for the dingoes.
  7. Make your area or campsite boring for the dingo. A boring campsite won't invite unwanted guests.
  8. Get your dingo experience from a distance. Never encourage dingoes to come close or excite the dingo just to get a good photo. Remember, dingoes won't react like a pet dog... even though sometimes they seem a lot like one!

More information:
Dingoes can be seen all year round on Fraser Island, with Dingo pups traditionally born during the winter. Fraser Island provides a varied diet for dingoes to hunt including; fish, crab, reptiles, echnidnas, wallabies, bandicoots, bush rats, beached marine life and small berries. 






1 comment:

  1. This blog is very useful for us. This is places Adventures Blog. These all ways are great which you present here.

    Paramount Hotel

    ReplyDelete