Dingo

The dingo is a free-roaming dog mainly found on the continent of Australia.

A dingo's natural habitat can range from deserts, to grasslands and on the verge of forests. They cannot live too far away from water and they normally settle their homes in dens, deserted rabbit holes, and hollow logs.

Dingoes play an important role in Australia's ecosystems; they are apex predators and the continent's largest terrestrial predator. Because of their attacks on livestock, dingoes and feral domesticated dogs are seen as pests by the sheep industry and the resultant control methods normally run counter to dingo conservation efforts. The cattle industry may benefit from the predation of dingoes on rabbits, kangaroos, and rats. Furthermore they have significant roles in the cultures of some Aboriginal people.

Today, it is estimated that the majority of the modern "dingoes" are also descended from more recently introduced domestic dogs. The number of these so-called dingo hybrids has increased significantly over the last decades, and the dingo is therefore now classified as vulnerable.