High rates of cannibalism and food waste consumption by dingoes living at a remote mining operation in the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia
Bradley P. Smith
A E , Damian S. Morrant B , Anne-Louise Vague C and Tim S. Doherty D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Central Queensland University, Smith Human–Wildlife Coexistence Lab, Adelaide Campus, 44 Greenhill Road, Wayville, SA 5034, Australia.
B Biosphere Environmental Consultants, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia.
C Newcrest Mining, Telfer Environment, 234 Railway Parade, West Leederville, WA 6007, Australia.
D Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Vic. 3125, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: b.p.smith@cqu.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 42(2) 230-234 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM19033
Submitted: 6 May 2019 Accepted: 26 August 2019 Published: 11 September 2019
Abstract
Mining operations in remote Australia represent a unique opportunity to examine the impact of supplementary food and water provision on local wildlife. Here, we present a dietary analysis of dingoes living at a mine site in the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia. A total of 270 faeces (scats) were collected from across the mine footprint on two occasions three months apart. The most frequently consumed food resource was anthropogenic (rubbish), which was found in 218 of 270 faeces (80.7% of scats and 65.3% of scat volume). Also of note was a high proportion of dingo remains, which was found in 51 of 270 faeces (18.9% of scats and 10.4% of scat volume), suggesting the occurrence of cannibalism. These findings highlight the potential influence of human-modified areas and associated resource availability on the diet of dingoes, and have implications for the environmental management of areas surrounding mining operations.
Additional keywords: anthropogenic, apex predator, diet, food waste, mining operations, predation, resource subsidies, trophic ecology, wild dogs
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