The following is a document available from the Australian Heritage Database - Author unknown

Place Details: Fraser Island, Eurong Rd, Eurong, QLD 

The dingo as a native species
The dingo, having existed in Australia for some 4000 years prior to European settlement, has interacted with indigenous animals and responded to and changed aspects of the environment, and thus is considered to be a native species (Corbett 1995a). This is reflected in the management objectives of many conservation agencies, which seek to conserve the dingo as part of Australias natural heritage.

The most recent evidence from mitochondrial DNA (Savolainen et al. 2004) suggests that dingoes arrived on the continent around 5,000 years ago and possibly up to 10,800 years ago. 

The dingo as a pure species
Research has clearly demonstrated that dingoes can be defined on the basis of skull morphology, body size, coat colour and some reproductive data. Although there is only one dingo species in Australia, there are statistically distinct subpopulations associated with tropical, desert and alpine climates and habitats in northern, central and south-eastern Australia respectively (Corbett 1995a). These subpopulations are sometimes referred to as tropical dingoes, desert dingoes and alpine dingoes. The so-called pure dingo refers to the original dingo type first described about the time of European settlement of Australia, and may also represent the ancestral dingo type that was transported to Australia some 4000 years ago. 

The dingo as a threatened species
The dingo Canis lupus dingo (Meyer 1793) is listed by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) as Vulnerable VU: A2e (Corbett 2004). The criteria for this classification is a reduction in population size of 30% over the last three generations, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased based on the effects of hybridisation (with introduced domestic dogs); and the pure dingo is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.According to Wilton (2001) the dingo in the wild is endangered due to hybridisation with domestic dogs. Wilton (in Dickmann and Lunney 2001) states that estimates of the proportion of hybrids in populations are as high as 78% in some areas, while Corbett (2001) notes surveys in NSW, in which 100% of samples were hybrids. According to Corbett (2001) the dingo in the wild is endangered due to hybridisation with domestic dogs. Wilton (in Dickmann and Lunney 2001) states that estimates of the proportion of hybrids in populations are as high as 78% in some areas, while Corbett (2001) notes surveys in NSW, in which 100% of samples were hybrids. According to Corbett (2001) given the current rate of hybridisation it is likely that most populations of pure dingos will be extinct by the end of the 21st century, and Australia would then become a land of hybrids and feral dogs.  

Wild dog control is a major cause of decline in pure dingoes. It is believed that 1080 baiting campaigns not only directly reduce local dingo populations, but also facilitate hybridisation with wild dogs. Fleming (2001) states that the behavioural differences between dingoes and domestic dogs are great enough to make it difficult for dogs to infiltrate dingo society and breed. Dingoes typically live in tight knit packs with one dominant breeding female, which breeds only once a year. Barry Oakman (pers. comm., March 2005), states that 1080 baiting appears to be breaking up packs, particularly through the loss of dominant animals. This loss of social cohesion encourages increased fecundity and a higher likelihood of dingos breeding with immigrant domestic and particularly hybrid dogs. Furthermore evidence presented by Fleming et al. (1996) showed that aerial baiting was efficient in reducing wild-living dogs by 66-84%, however dog numbers returned to their initial abundance within one year. (Meek and Shields 2001). There are countless numbers of dogs in rural districts and these dogs flow into the dingoes domain after a 1080-poisoning event. Thus 1080 baiting causes the amount of hybrids to increase at the expense of dingoes (Barry Oakman pers. comm. March 2005).  

The dingo as a keystone species
The importance of top-order predators in maintaining ecosystem function has been demonstrated in a number of marine and terrestrial systems (eg. Paine 1966, 1980; Ripple and Larsen 2000). By limiting populations of their prey and or subordinate competitors, top-order predators can modulate the diversity of a system, and may ultimately increase plant biomass and or animal biodiversity via a series of trophic links. Species which perform this function are known as keystone predators. Where keystone predators have been removed from a system, the effects on species richness and abundance at lower trophic levels can be profound. Previously subordinate predators may increase unchecked, potentially decimating prey populations. Some herbivores may become over-abundant, leading to overgrazing on plant populations. Competitive relationships between prey species may be altered, and in some cases, these effects may ultimately lead to community-level trophic cascades in which plant biomass is redistributed throughout a system.In Australia, a wealth of observational evidence, backed by a small but growing body of experimental work, indicates that the dingo fulfils the role of a keystone predator in many ecosystems (Corbett 1995a, Glen and Dickman 2005). One example concerns three relatively recent arrivals in Australia - the introduced red fox, feral cat and European rabbit - that have become major threats to biodiversity and agriculture (Rolls 1969). All three of these species interact with the dingo and with each other. Rabbits, in turn, are linked to plant biomass, vegetation structure and diversity through direct grazing effects. Thus, loss of dingo populations (via persecution or loss of habitat), could have impacts that reverberate through the trophic levels from predator to mesopredator to herbivore and ultimately to primary producers.  

The dingo in Aboriginal life and culture
The dingo plays a vital role in Aboriginal culture, both past and present, as illustrated by the following excerpts:The Dreamtime is the spiritual past of the Aboriginal people. There is no one Dreaming which is accepted by all aboriginal people as the creation story, and this is recognised by different names and different stories in different areas.From the Dreamtime comes the belief that the dingo can see into the supernatural, it is a watchdog, warning of the approach of evil spirits. In dog dreaming their ancestor was part human, part dingo from which all people came, this was the belief in some areas. Aboriginal stories of the mythical giant creatures of the Dreamtime are passed from generation to generation and enshrine memories of the past (see Roughsey and Trezise1973).In many Dreamtime stories the ancestral beings metamorphosed during the story to become a natural landmark that may still be in existence today. Mountains and rock formations are often said to represent ancestral beings, and their existence is often explained by a Dreamtime story. Similarly, caves and hills, watercourses, lakes, trees and celestial formations also are often linked to Dreamtime stories. Dreaming stories also provide a set of rules governing and explaining behaviour and relationships amongst people, animals and with areas of land.  

It meets the following criteria
(a) the dingo was important in the course or pattern of the history of Indigenous Australians. Dingoes were (and still are) an integral part of Aboriginal life and culture and helped to shape not only their way of life, but also their spiritual past. The dingo also has an importance in Australia's more recent history. Australian people have long been fascinated with this animal. The dingo holds an important place in Australia's identity. 

(b) The Fraser Island dingo population is regarded as the most pure strain of dingoes remaining in the world, and is an outstanding example of the tropical type dingo subpopulation. The pure dingo is becoming increasingly rare in Australia (and the world) and is threatened with extinction.  

(d) While other temperate areas hold dingo populations, the Fraser Island dingo population is an outstanding example of the tropical type dingo subpopulation (Corbett 1995a). The population size is large and self-sustaining and likely to remain so due to the management strategies of the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Fraser Island dingo population is regarded as the most pure strain of dingoes remaining in the world and stands as the Australian and world icon of the pure dingo. This icon is a major drawcard for the hundreds-of-thousands of Australian and overseas visitors to the island, annually. 

(g) The dingo has a significant place in Australian culture. Indigenous Australians have a special cultural and spiritual association with this animal. The dingo also has a strong social cultural significance to Australians after European settlement.  

(i) The dingo has a vital place in Indigenous tradition. There is a continuing traditional association between Aboriginal people and dingoes throughout the region.

Description: There is a continuing traditional association between Aboriginal people and dingoes throughout the region. The total Fraser Island dingo population is about 100 adults and subadults (Corbett 1998). Most dingoes live in packs (core group of 2 adults, range 2-9 members) within territories (about 26 territories on the island in 1998), and packs comprise adult and younger animals of both sexes. Packs are characterised by a male dominance hierarchy throughout the year and a secondary female hierarchy during the breeding season. Although lone animals are often seen, these are loosely associated with a pack. The single breeding season commences about March and there is usually only one litter per pack (mean 5, range 2-6 pups per litter) resulting in a post-breeding total population of about 200 adults and pups. However, this reduces to about half (100 adults and subadults) immediately prior to the following breeding season mostly due to dingo interactions within and between packs, so that only 0-2 pups per pack remain at the commencement of the next breeding season. Some dingoes, that are aggressive to humans or rely mostly on human-provided food, are culled by QPWS Rangers as part of a dingo management plan (Corbett 2003).

History:
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding natural universal values: Criterion (ii) outstanding examples representing significant ongoing geological processes, biological evolution and man's interaction with his natural environment, and Criterion (iii) contain unique or superlative natural phenomena, formations or features of exceptional natural beauty. 

In 1836 a number of survivors of the wrecked ship Stirling Castle lived for about six weeks on the island before being rescued. During these six weeks, hostility and aggression developed between the Europeans and the Aborigines. One of the survivors was the wife of the captain of the Stirling Castle, Eliza Fraser, after whom Europeans named the island.  

Called Kgari by the Butchulla Aborigines, the island reveals Aboriginal occupation of at least 5,000 years, although it is possible that further archaeological work may indicate earlier occupation. Early European reports suggested that Fraser Island was heavily populated by Aboriginal people, but subsequent research indicates that there was a small permanent population of 400-600 that swelled seasonally to perhaps 2000-3000 in the winter months when seafood resources were particularly abundant. Fraser Island contains many sites of archaeological, social and spiritual significance. Middens, artefact scatters, fish traps, scarred trees and campsites bear witness to the lives of the original inhabitants. 

summary of dingo history, biology and ecology
The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is a primitive dog that evolved from a wolf
(Canis lupus pallipes-C.l.arabs) 6,000-10,000 years ago and became widespread throughout southern Asia. Asian seafarers subsequently introduced dingoes into Indonesia, Borneo, Philippines, New Guinea, Madagascar and other islands including Australia some 3,500-4,000 years ago. Dingoes eventually colonised the entire Australian mainland, probably assisted by the Aborigines who had arrived in Australia at least 15 millennia earlier. Aborigines used dingoes to hunt game, especially kangaroos, wallabies and possums. Some Aboriginal tribes adopted the dingo as their totem, and several dreamtime stories and corroborees are centred on the dingo.

The average adult dingo in Australia stands 570 mm at the shoulder, is 1230 mm long from nose to tail-tip and weighs 15 kg. The coat colour is typically ginger but varies from sandy-yellow to red-ginger and is occasionally black-and-tan, white or black. Most dingoes have white markings on the feet, tail tip and chest, some have black muzzles and all have pricked ears and bushy tails. Pure dingoes are distinct from similar-looking domestic dogs and hybrids because they breed once a year and have skulls with narrower snouts, larger auditory bullae (ear sounding box) and larger canine (holding) and carnassial (cutting) teeth. The coat colour of hybrids is extremely variable and usually distinctively different to dingoes, but some are not. 

Most female dingoes become sexually mature at two years and have only one oestrus period each year, although some do not breed in droughts. Males in arid Australia also have a seasonal breeding cycle of about six months where the inability to breed successfully at other times is more probably due to a lack of seminal fluid than to a lack of sperm. Gestation takes about 63 days and litters of 1-10 pups (the average is 5) are whelped during the winter months, usually in an underground den. Pups usually become independent at 3-4 months or, if in a pack, when the next breeding season begins. 

Although dingoes are often seen alone, many such individuals belong to socially integrated packs whose members meet every few days or coalesce during the breeding season to mate and rear pups. At such times scent marking and howling is most pronounced. Dingoes use scent-posts to indicate currently shared hunting-grounds, to mark territorial boundaries, and possibly to synchronise reproduction between pairs. 

Vocalisations include three basic howl types: moans, bark-howls and snuffs. Howling is used for long distance communication and has two purposes- attracting pack members and repelling rivals. Dingoes distinguish these purposes by means of howl responses, sight, physical location, and pheromones (chemical messages) to confirm the identity and perhaps the social status of both the initiating and responding howlers. Basic howl types provide information about the location itself, about the howler, and about group size. Overall, howling is mostly used by members of stable territorial packs (or subunits) especially when packs are using or defending essential resources, particularly oestrus and pregnant females, food and water. 

In remote areas where dingoes are not disturbed by human control operations, discrete and stable packs of 3-12 dingoes occupy territories throughout the year. Such packs have distinct male and female hierarchies where rank order is largely determined and maintained by aggressive behaviour, especially within male ranks. The dominant pair may be the only successful breeders but other pack members assist in rearing the pups. 

The size of a dingo pack's territory varies with prey resources and terrain but is not correlated with pack size. For individuals, home range size also varies with age. The largest recorded territories (45-113 km) and home ranges (mean 77 km) occur in the Fortescue River area of north-west Australia. Mean home ranges recorded elsewhere are 25-67 km for arid central Australia, 39 km for tropical northern Australia, and 10-21 km for forested regions of eastern Australia. Most dingoes remain in their birth area, but some, especially young males, disperse and the longest recorded distance for a tagged dingo is 250 km over 10 months in central Australia. 

Dingoes eat a diverse range of prey types, from insects to buffalo. However, in a particular region they tend to specialise on the commonest available wildlife prey and change their group size and hunting strategy accordingly to maximise hunting success. For example, packs have greater success than solitary dingoes at hunting kangaroos, and vice versa when hunting rabbits. The main prey are magpie geese, rodents and agile wallabies in the Top End (Kakadu National Park); rabbits, rodents, lizards and red kangaroos in central Australia; euros and red kangaroos in the Fortescue River area; rabbits in the Nullarbor Region; and wallabies and wombats in eastern Australia. 

Since the early days of European settlement, dingoes have harassed stock, especially sheep and cattle. However, most attacks occur when native prey are scarce (e.g. during droughts or after wildfire or as a result of human disturbance to habitats); cattle also die during drought and dingoes scavenge on their carcasses. Although dingoes often assist humans in keeping down the numbers of rabbits, feral pigs and other pastoral pests, governments and landholders have attempted to control or eradicate dingoes by offering scalp bonuses, by hunting with trap and gun, and by poisoning and fencing. These attempts have been largely unsatisfactory since most control measures merely harvest populations, or even promote increases in dingo numbers by disrupting the social organisation of packs and prompting an increase in breeding rates. Further, the widespread provision of watering points (dams and bores fed by subterranean water) for stock has encouraged dingoes to move beyond the widely scattered natural waters; the provision of abundant non-native food sources- rabbits in good seasons and cattle carrion during drought- has had the same effect. 

In recent years, there is concern that pure dingoes are now gone from many regions of Australia and eventually will be gone from all of Australia due to hybridisation between dingoes and domestic dogs. However, the replacement is essentially an evolved dingo that performs the same or similar ecological functions as previously, and most of the replacement hybrids will just look a bit different. 

A major conservation emphasis, therefore, should be on understanding the role of modern dingoes in different regions and habitats in Australia and managing dingoes so that they can fulfil a particular role (see Daniels and Corbett 2003). Roles can be ecological, cultural or economic. Ecological roles may be dingoes as keystone species that shape prey populations (usually in association with major environmental perturbations – drought or wildfire) or as competitors to subordinate predators (foxes and feral cats) that also (indirectly) acts to shape or preserve prey populations. In conducting its ecological role, it probably does not matter what the dingo looks like – just what it does is important and management should focus on determining how many dingoes (and social groupings) are needed to conduct the ecological role.  

Conversely, cultural roles (eg. as totem animals in Aboriginal tribes) and economic roles (eg. as tourist draw-cards on Fraser Island) require dingoes to be, or to look like original-type dingoes (pure dingoes) and management strategies here should focus on maintaining populations of original-type dingoes and or dingo-like hybrids.

Location: About 163000ha, on the south-eastern coast of Queensland, comprising the whole of the island as inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992.