澳洲野犬

Breed classification

Group 4 (Hounds)

Breed standards (external link) ANKC

　　澳洲野犬或丁哥犬(Canis lupus dingo)是一種野狗，可能源自印度狼(Canis lupus pallipes)，雖然叫做澳洲野犬但是並不限於澳洲也不是起源於此。

　　已知最早的澳洲野犬顱骨在越南發現約有5500年的歷史，在東南亞其他區域有發現澳洲野犬的遺跡自5000到2500年之久，最早的澳洲紀錄是在3500年前。

　　澳洲野犬的最終的起源無法確定，但應跟西南亞的狼隻有關，並可能崛起於人類開始發展農業的同時。現在認為現代犬是數支不同時期和地區馴養狼的混種，現代的澳洲野犬應是一隻早期馴養的相關純血統後裔，牠可能是在以色列發現地14000年之久類似澳洲野犬的骨骸，在美洲發現地9000年的遺骨是人狼共生關係的證據，當人類東遷時半馴的犬隻伴隨他們，在美國東南發現的卡羅萊納犬類似澳洲野犬並擁有其他犬種沒有的共同基因特徵。

Modern Dingos are found throughout South-east Asia, mostly in small pockets of remaining natural forest, and in mainland Australia, particularly in the north. They have features in common with both wolves and modern dogs, and are regarded as more-or-less unchanged descendants of an early ancestor of modern dogs.

At between 10 and 24 kilograms, Dingos are a little smaller than wolves of the northern hemisphere (in keeping with Bergmann's Rule) and have a lean, athletic build. They stand between 44 and 63 cm high at the shoulder, and the head-body length varies between 86 and 122 cm. Colour varies but is usually ginger: some have a reddish tinge, others are more sandy yellow, and some are even black; the underside is lighter. Most Dingos have white markings on the chest, feet, and the tip of the tail; some have a blackish muzzle. (The one illustrated above right is paler than usual, and noticeably more thick-set than most.)

Unlike the domestic dog, Dingos breed only once a year, do not bark, have permanently erect ears. They have a more independent temperament than dogs, and the skull is distinctive, with a narrower muzzle, larger auditory bullae, larger canine teeth, and a domed head.

Dingos did not arrive in Australia as companions of the original Aborigines around 50,000 years ago, but seem to have been brought by seafaring Austronesian traders at about the same time as the Great Pyramids were being built in ancient Egypt. A study of dingo mitochondrial DNA published in 2004 places their arrival at around 4000 BC, and suggests that only one small group may be the ancestors of all modern dingos.

The Dingo spread rapidly, probably with human assistance, and is thought to have occupied the entire continent within a short time. The full extent of the ecological change brought about by the introduction of the Dingo remains unknown, but there is little doubt that it was responsible for a series of extinctions, notably of marsupial carnivores, including the last remaining large predator, the Thylacine. (Note that the demise of the Australian megafauna took place more than 40,000 years before Dingos arrived and is believed to have been largely a result of human impact on an already fragile ecosystem.)

Aboriginal people across the continent adopted the Dingo as a companion animal, using it to assist with hunting, and for warmth on cold nights.

Wild Dingos prey on a variety of animals, mostly small or medium-sized, but also larger herbivores at need. Generally, Dingos live in small family groups, but they are capable of forming larger packs to hunt cooperatively. It is thought that this gave Dingos an important competitive advantage over the more solitary marsupial carnivores, particularly during Australia's frequent droughts (when game becomes scarce).

When European settlers first arrived in Australia, Dingos were tolerated, even welcomed at times. That changed rapidly when sheep became an important part of the white economy. Dingos were trapped, shot on sight, and poisoned—often regardless of whether they were truly wild or belonged to Aboriginal people. In the 1880s, construction of the great Dingo Fence began. The Dingo Fence was designed to keep Dingos out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent (where they had largely been exterminated) and protect the sheep flocks of southern Queensland. It would eventually stretch 8500 kilometres; from near Toowoomba through thousands of miles of arid country to the Great Australian Bight and be (at that time) the longest man-made structure in the world. It was only partly successful: Dingos can still be found in parts of the southern states to this day, and although the fence helped reduce losses of sheep to predators, this was counterbalanced by increased pasture competition from rabbits and kangaroos.

Dingos have received bad publicity in recent years as a result of the highly publicised Azaria Chamberlain disappearance and also because of Dingo attacks on Fraser Island in Queensland. They are opportunistic carnivores, taking prey ranging in size from lizards and small rodents up to sheep and kangaroos. Dingos do not generally form packs; they more often travel in pairs or small family groups. While Dingo groups use defined home territories, these territories can overlap with those of other groups.

As a result of interbreeding with dogs introduced by European settlers, the purebred Dingo gene pool is being swamped. By the early 1990s, about a third of all wild Dingos in the south-east of the continent were hybrids, and although the process of interbreeding is less advanced in more remote areas, the extinction of the subspecies in the wild is considered inevitable.

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