 | Quick Facts |  |
|  | Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: dingo
Length: 44 inches
Weight: 77 lbs
Gestation: 63 days
Life Span: 3 - 7 years
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DingoCanis dingo |  |
Dingoes look very much like a large dog. The primary differences are mating habits, longer canine teeth, and the formation of their skull. Dingoes vary in color from sandy beige to a darker reddish ginger color. They usually have sporadic white markings on their tail and underbelly.
Dingoes, being carnivorous , will eat whatever meat they can get. Until the rabbit was introduced to Australia, kangaroo was a fairly common part of their diet. The rabbit has become the primary diet of the dingo followed by the smaller marsupials.
The dingo lives in the scrub and semidesert environments in Australia.
The primary predator of the dingo is man. Dingoes kill sheep and are often shot or poisoned to keep them away.
Dingoes can be found alone or in packs of up to 10 animals. Sometimes, though not often, larger packs are formed. This was useful when trying to hunt and kill the larger kangaroos. The younger males are usually more solitary than the older dingoes. The care of younger dingoes is shared by the entire pack.
Dingoes mate once a year. After a gestation period of about 9 weeks a litter of around 5 pups is born. These pups will nurse for about 2 months and are independent at 6 to 8 months old.
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