Mammals · Carnivora · Canidae
Dingo
Canis lupus dingo
Vulnerable
At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.
The dingo is Australia's wild canid, which reached the continent some 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, probably with seafarers from South-East Asia. It is the country's largest land predator and plays a key part in regulating populations of kangaroos and of feral foxes and cats. It lives in family groups with a dominant breeding pair and breeds only once a year. Its main threat is not direct persecution but hybridisation with domestic dogs, which is diluting its gene pool.
Weight
13 kg – 20 kg
Size
85 cm – 1.2 m
Life expectancy
10 years
