17 August: Dingos

It was on this date in 1980 that dingos (native dogs of Australia) reportedly snatched the baby Azaria Chamberlain from a camp ground near Ayers Rock. 10 facts about dingoes.

1. The name "dingo" comes from the Dharug language used by indigenous Australians in the Sydney area. The scientific name is debated, and the animals may be referred to as Canis familiaris dingo, Canis lupus dingo or Canis dingo.
2. The earliest known dingo fossil, found in Western Australia, dates to 3,450 years ago. It's believed they were originally domestic Dogs brought to Australia by seafarers from Indonesia or Southeast Asia and abandoned there, so they fell back on their wolflike characteristics in order to survive.
3. The average dingo weighs between 13-24kg, with males usually heavier than the females. An average male is about 52-63cms tall. In the wild, dingoes live between five to 10 years, but in captivity, they can live 18 to 20 years.
4. They are usually sandy Yellow to Red ginger in colour with White markings on their feet, tail tip and chest. There are, however, variations depending on where the dingoes live. Desert dingoes will be yellow or red. Alpine dingoes are rarer, and are light cream in colour. There are a small number of dingoes which are Black, black-tan or white.
5. They have larger Skulls than domestic dogs. They can turn their heads around 180 degrees, compared to owls, which can turn their heads 270 degrees and humans, which can only turn theirs 45 to 70 degrees. Another feature of the dingo's body is that it has rotating wrists, rather like we do, which helps them catch prey and also makes them better at climbing trees and even able to open doors.
6. A dingo's diet consists mainly of wallaby and Kangaroo. They are also known to prey on Rabbits, possums, gliders, Rats and Mice. They will eat livestock if they can get at it, so they are considered pests by farmers. Farmers have tried many ways of keeping dingoes off their land, including guard Donkeys which kick at the dingoes and scare them away. A more conventional measure has been to build a fence. You may have heard of the fences built in the 1880s to keep rabbits out - many of those were repaired and made into dingo fences in the 1900s, and in the 1940s were connected to make one 8614 kilometers (5352.5 miles) long fence. It has since been shortened to 5614 kilometers (3488.4 miles). It costs 10 million Australian dollars a year to maintain.
7. Dingoes play a significant role in the Dreamtime stories of indigenous Australians, but they rarely appear in cave paintings.
8. Dingoes have gained a dodgy reputation over the years. They tend to be seen as cowardly and devious, and in the past have even been said to be devils with a venomous bite or saliva. "Dingo" became synonymous with thieves or vagabonds and since the 1960s has frequently been used by politicians to describe their opponents.
9. Usually, dingoes avoid any conflict with human beings, but they are large, powerful wild animals so if they decide to attack a human they could injure or kill. Most reports of dingoes attacking humans involve the humans feeding the dingoes. A few people keep dingoes as pets, although they are said to be extremely high maintenance and don't like being left alone or change (such as moving house or being given to a new owner).
10. Some domestic and working dogs have dingo blood in them from times gone by when dog breeders realised that hybrids would be stronger and bulkier.

My latest books

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

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Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two