Dingo Facts

About the dingo

Dingo coats come in three main colors: creamy white, black and tan, or a light ginger or tan shade. Its wedge-shaped skull looks big for the body. Scientists disagree about how to classify the animal. Some treat it as a form of domestic dog, others as a subspecies of dog or wolf, and others as a species of its own, Canis dingo.

A close relative is the New Guinea singing dog. The two split early from the line that led to modern domestic dogs, and their ancestry traces back to Asia by way of Maritime Southeast Asia. The oldest dingo remains found in Australia are about 3,500 years old. A typical pack is a mated pair with that year's pups, sometimes joined by young from the year before.

Did you know?

• The dingo is sometimes classed as a dog subspecies, Canis familiaris dingo.
• Some scientists treat the dingo as a wolf subspecies, Canis lupus dingo.
• Dingo history in Australia goes back at least 3,500 years.