Is the Dingo a true Aussie specie? Managing the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo): Conflict between the anthropogenic and environmental factors

Résumé du document

According to Aboriginal myths and legends, the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) would have evolved in Australia from the "Dreaming" - the creation period - and have always been a highly estimated and valued companion. As a consequence of these oral memories and scarce testimonies of the past, for many years it was believed that the Aboriginal people brought Dingoes to Australia. However, this theory has now largely been discarded and most researchers believe that Asian seafarers who traded with the northern Aborigines, actually transported Dingoes from mainland Asia, through South-East Asia, to Australia and other parts of the Pacific, during their travels over the last 5000 years. The oldest fossil records of dingoes in South East Asia date back to 5,500 years and fossil evidence found in Australia suggest an arrival on the continent between 3000 and 4000 years ago. More accurate and reliable evidence came in 2004 from the DNA analysis of 211 dingoes from all over Australia, 676 dogs from other continents, 38 Eurasian wolves and 19 pre-European archaeological samples from Polynesia .

Extraits

[...] Nevertheless, the exceptional cull of specimens could be a solution since its destruction would provide the rest of the pack with stronger rules and a new hierarchy between dominant and subordinates animals. Managing dingo behaviours by discouraging dingoes from eating human food or entering campground is also an interesting idea, but which will need the use of a wide range of different methods since dingoes quickly become accustomed and indifferent to a single stimulus[24]. This exigency will be all the more difficult to implement as it is essential to prevent impact on other wildlife. [...]

[...] Porter, L. [...]

[...] Robert Paddle, in particular, presented in his book The Last Tasmanian Tiger[10], different evidences to prove that the alteration of the environment and the competition with humans could more likely be the main causes. The timing of their disappearance is also challenged by the discovery of records from early naturalists and interviews with Aboriginal people from South Australia that indicate Thylacines may have persisted on the mainland until much more recently. Secondly, dingoes' biological traits and behavioural pattern tend to indicate that they have fully integrated the Australian ecosystem by meeting its specific requirements. [...]

[...] O'Neill, Adam Living with the Dingo. Envirobook, Annandale. Ibid. Ibid. Environmental Protection Agency Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy. Queensland Government. Ibid. Ibid. O'Neill, Adam Living with the Dingo. Envirobook, Annandale. [...]

[...] Yet, they are many examples of species undergoing extremely brief genetic adaptations. For instance, Adam O'Neill explains in his book Living with the Dingo that the first rabbits introduced into Victoria were predominantly grey with a throw back white, black or ginger. Now, because ginger rabbits are better camouflaged and less exposed to predators, in some sandy regions of the Australian arid zones, up to of the entire population of rabbits present this characteristic. The transition has probably happened in 100 years or 300 generations, which is incredibly rapid. [...]