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Dingo

As the Dingo is a skilled predator, its diet is composed largely of mammals such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, rabbits and echidnas. Birds, reptiles, insects and fruit may also be eaten.

In order to reduce competition for food and to ensure the strongest animals survive, only the alpha pair breeds. The female gives birth to a litter of 4-5 pups after a 63-day gestation. Dingoes produce only one litter a year, unlike other dogs. Pack members, including the alpha male, help rear the litter and regurgitate food for both mother and pups. Pups begin to eat meat from 3-4 weeks of age.

The numbers of pure Dingoes in the wild are declining as they interbreed with domestic dogs. Dingoes in sparsely populated remote areas are more likely to be purebred. In some parts of Australia, the Dingo is considered to be vermin owing to stock losses.