The diet of the dingo (Canis lupus dingo and hybrids) in north-eastern Australia: a supplement to the paper of Brook and Kutt (2011)
Lee Allen A D , Mark Goullet B and Russell Palmer C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Robert Wicks Pest Animal Research Centre, Biosecurity Queensland, 203 Tor Street, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
B FeralsOut, 1551 Obi Obi Road, Kidaman Creek, Qld 4574, Australia.
C Science Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, PO Box 51, Wanneroo, WA 6946, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: lee.allen@deedi.qld.gov.au
The Rangeland Journal 34(2) 211-217 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ11092
Submitted: 13 December 2011 Accepted: 19 February 2012 Published: 20 April 2012
Abstract
Dingoes and other wild dogs (Canis lupus dingo and hybrids) are generalist predators that consume a wide variety of different prey species within their range. Little is known, however, of the diets of dingoes in north-eastern Australia where the potential for impacts by dingoes exists. Recently new information has been provided on the diets of dingoes from several sites in Queensland, Australia, significantly adding to the body of published knowledge on ecosystems within this region. Further information on the diet of dingoes in north-eastern Australia is added from 1460 scats collected from five sites, representing tropical savannahs, tropical offshore islands (and a matched mainland area), dry sclerophyll forests and peri-urban areas on the fringe of Townsville. Macropods, possums and bandicoots were found to be common prey for dingoes in these areas. Evidence suggested that the frequency of prey remains in scats can be an unreliable indicator of predation risk to potential prey and it was found that novel and unexpected prey species appear in dingo diets as preferred prey become unavailable. The results support the generalisation that dingoes prefer medium- to large-sized native prey species when available but also highlight the capacity for dingoes to exploit populations of both large and small prey species that might not initially be considered at risk from predation based solely on data on scats.
Additional keywords: apex predator, Canis lupus dingo, diet, faeces, macropod, prey switching, wild dog.
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