Australian Wildlife Part 1 - The Dingo

The Australian Dingo is a type of dog. They are thought to have originated in Asia, are evolved from a subspecies of the Grey Wolf.

It seems likely that seafarers transported Dingos from mainland Asia to Australia and other parts of the Pacific during their voyages.

Fossil evidence suggests that Dingos arrived in Australia around 3500 – 4000 years ago, and quickly spread to all parts of the Australian mainland and offshore islands, with the exception of Tasmania.

It is thought that the Dingo caused the fall in numbers of the Thylacine – a type of marsupial – either through competition for food or through the introduction of diseases such as rabies.

In Tasmania there were no Dingos, and the Thylacines survived until the 1930s further proving that Dingos were a major cause of the decline of Thylacines on the mainland.