I need a bigger zoom lens.... Somewhere between 50-100 metres away, it walked over a small ridge and was surprised to bump into me. I walked over to check it out but it had melted into the long grass, very stealthy and camouflaged in the straw coloured grass. Quite a fluffy tail so maybe some feral dog in the mix? Happy to be corrected on the ID, but it looked more dingo than feral dog to me???
Michael, I think this is a Dingo. Feral dogs are quite uncommon in Namadgi as far as I know, they usually don't survive for long in the wild. I would prefer to see the common name of Dingo used on the CNM title and the reference to Wild Dog removed. I think calling these animals Wild Dogs undermines their important role in the ecology of Namadgi. They have been the apex predator in that system for a few thousand years. By calling them Wild Dogs we give the impression they have escaped from someone's yard in Conder last month. I am not sure which taxonomic classification CNM is using for mammals but could the latin name Canis lupus dingo be used to separate Dingo's from Wild Dogs?
Hi Greg Thanks for your note. I agree with you entirely. You may remember I wrote a detailed article for the FOG newsletter in support of the Dingo (July/August 2014). My preference would be for the following names:- Canis lupus dingo - for Dingo (perhaps with synonym Canis dingo), Canis lupus familiaris - for Feral Common Dogs from Conder or anywhere else, Canis lupus - for Dingo/Wild Dog - those unrecognisable as either of the above.
However, Michael Mulvaney and Murray Evans are running the mammals section on CNM. You should address your complaint to them. They will be able to explain better than me the reasons behind the choice of scientific and common names for the Dingo.
Describe how you intend to use these images and/or audio files and your request will be sent to the author for consideration.
Your request has been successfully submitted to the author for consideration.
2,153,542 sightings of 19,948 species in 6,481 locations from 11,431 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.