#Australian wild dogs full#
#Australian wild dogs free#

Interbreeding of dingoes and domestic dogs is not necessarily unintended and dingoes have been used for the breeding of certain dog breeds. Forms ĭingoes and domestic dogs interbreed freely with each other and therefore the term 'wild dog' is often used for describing all dingoes, dingo-hybrids and other feral domestic dogs, because the borders between the three are unclear. Interbreeding with the native dingoes has probably been occurring since the arrival of domestic dogs in the year 1788. The spread of farming and grazing activities in the 19th century led to a further spread of other domestic dogs, both pet and feral ones.

Although there are few records of such releases, their occurrence is supported by reports of free-living dogs of specific breeds being seen or captured in remote areas. Since then, some of those dogs dispersed into the wild (both deliberately and accidentally) and founded feral populations, especially in places where the dingo numbers had been severely reduced due to human intervention. Įuropean domestic dogs arrived in Australia in the 18th century, during the European colonization. Additionally, it was suspected that there was later no significant introduction of other domestic dogs before the arrival of the Europeans. The dingo has been proven to have existed on the continent for at least 3,500 years, which was confirmed by archaeological as well as genetic examinations and findings. 5.2 Possible changes in behaviour and biologyĭingoes arrived in Australia together with seafarers four millennia ago, and reverted to the wild there.5 Importance and effect of hybridisation.This finding challenges the perception that dingoes are nearly extinct and have been replaced by feral domestic dogs. In 2021, DNA testing of over 5,000 wild-living canines from across Australia found that 31 were feral domestic dogs and 27 were first generation hybrids.

#Australian wild dogs full#

The full extent of the effects of this process is currently unknown and the possibility of potential problems, as well as the wish to preserve the 'pure' dingo, often leads to a strong rejection of the interbreeding. However, the proportion of the so-called 'pure' dingoes (dogs with exclusively dingo-ancestry) has been on the decrease over the last few decades due to hybridisation and is regarded as further decreasing.īecause of this ongoing interbreeding of dingoes and domestic dogs and the resulting hybrids, there is a much wider range of colours and body shapes today among the Australian wild dog population than in the time before the human introduction of domestic dogs.

#Australian wild dogs free#

The current population of free ranging domestic dogs in Australia is now probably higher than in the past. A dingo–dog hybrid is a hybrid cross between a dingo and a domestic dog.