Dingo overview

Dingo sitting in grass looking away to the right — Canis familiaris (dingo).
Queensland Government

The dingo—Australia's only native canid—is descended from south Asian wolves. The current scientific name is Canis familiaris (dingo).

Eye-catching, curious and sometimes dangerous, dingoes can be observed across mainland Australia where they play an important role in the natural environment.

The dingo is an important apex predator and is also believed to play a role in keeping natural systems in balance. In addition, dingoes also prey on or alter the behaviour of some feral animals, and in this way can potentially aid the survival of some native species.

Dingoes hold a significant place in the spiritual and cultural practices of many First Nations communities. As an iconic Australian species, the chance to observe a dingo in its natural habitat is also considered an exciting opportunity and privilege. This wildlife experience attracts tourists, resulting in flow-on economic benefits. Naturally curious, the dingo will occasionally approach humans however, this should be actively discouraged and be treated with absolute caution. Despite looking like a domestic dog, the dingo is a wild animal and can be dangerous.

What do they look like?

Dingoes can stand more than 60cm tall. Adults weigh between 13–23kg, depending on geographic location and other seasonal and genetic factors. Dingoes are naturally lean, similar to a greyhound, with a narrow ventral chest, large ears permanently pricked, white sock markings and tails often marked with a white tip.

Although mainly sandy-yellow or tan in colour, some dingo colour morphs can be black and tan. The coat colour of a dingo is influenced by where it lives. Golden yellow dingoes are often found in sandy coastal areas, alpine dingoes tend to have a paler coat colour and inland desert dingoes generally have a shorter, darker orange-red coat. Darker black, black and tan and white colour morphs occur sporadically in dingo populations throughout Australia.

Dingoes are social pack animals. Wild dingoes may sometimes appear in poor condition due to naturally occurring health issues or because they have been denied food by more dominant members of their pack. Subordinate and scapegoat pack dingoes are the lowest-ranking dingo pack members and receive few privileges, including limited access to food, even when it is available. The variable condition of individual dingoes is consistent with naturally occurring populations of other wildlife species and is not an indication of the overall health of the population.

Where do they live?

From harsh deserts to lush rainforests, the highly adaptable dingo is found in every habitat and state of Australia except Tasmania. Dingoes favour the edges of forests next to grasslands. In deserts, access to drinking water determines where animals can live. Dingoes can travel extensive distances for water and food resources.

K’gari free-ranging dingoes (known as wongari in the local Butchulla language) within the Great Sandy National Park have particularly significant conservation value and iconic status because they have rarely interbred with domestic or feral dogs. See more information about K'gari dingoes.

Wongari hold immense significance to the local Butchulla People as a crucial component of K’gari’s cultural fabric. This makes their conservation even more vital so that the island’s rich cultural heritage and biodiversity are preserved.

What do they eat?

Dingoes are Australia's largest land-based meat-eaters (carnivores) and hunt many kinds of animals. They are crepuscular, hunting mainly at dusk and dawn. Depending on the size of the prey, dingoes may hunt alone or in packs.

The dingo is an opportunistic and generalist predator that will search widely for food and eat whatever it finds. Although primarily carnivorous, dingoes will also eat fish, crustaceans, insects, eggs and fruit, depending on availability, and scavenge carcases.

Dingoes generally eat small to medium native mammals, birds and reptiles, some introduced feral animals and some domestic animals. K’gari dingo diet research has shown that the two species of bandicoot (long-nosed and northern brown) found on the island are the preferred mammalian prey items. Discarded food from dumps unsecured food around camps and fish and bait scraps from fishers (penalties apply) are also eaten when the opportunity arises. Human-sourced food is unhealthy for all wildlife species including dingoes.

Are dingoes considered native to Australia?

The earliest undisputed archaeological finding of the dingo in Australia has been dated to 3,500 years ago, when it was likely introduced by Asian seafarers. However, the Queensland Museum notes that recent DNA studies suggest dingoes may have been in Australia even longer (between 4,640 and 18,100 years).

While dingoes look similar to some domestic dogs, they are wild, opportunistic and unpredictable and should be respected.

How do they breed?

Dingoes live for approximately 7-13 years in the wild and can start breeding once they reach the age of one, but generally after their second year.

Unlike the domestic dog, the dingo breeds only once a year. Litters of around four to ten dingo pups are born in areas such as a hollow log, under a rock ledge, or in a dug-out.

Alloparenting occurs within packs, whereby individual dingoes assist the biological parents in providing parental care (feeding and rearing) to pups within the pack that are not their own direct offspring.

Are dingoes protected?

The dingo is considered native wildlife under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and are protected in most national parks. On K’gari (Great Sandy National Park), dingoes are managed in accordance with the Fraser Island Dingo Conservation and Risk Management Strategy (PDF, 7.3MB). Outside of national parks in Queensland dingoes are a restricted invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014 and must not be moved, fed, given away, sold, or released into the environment without a permit.

Dingoes are wild animals and, where protected, it is illegal to interfere with them. Under the Nature Conservation (Protected Areas Management) Regulation 2017, Nature Conservation (Wildlife Management) Regulation 2006 and the Recreation Areas Management Act 2006, it is an offence to feed or disturb dingoes. Serious penalties can result for non-compliance with legislation.

What are the threats to the survival of the K’gari dingo population?

Dingoes can interbreed with domestic dogs. Unfortunately, interbreeding with domestic and feral dogs threatens the ability of the dingo to maintain its genetic distinctiveness from domestic dogs. On mainland Australia, along the more populated coastal areas and in certain inland areas, interbreeding has become a serious problem and has diluted the genetic purity of the dingo as a native canid. For the dingo to avoid interbreeding, it is important to control the number of domestic and feral dogs. Dingoes on K’gari rarely interbreed with domestic or feral dogs due to their isolated location, making the conservation of this dingo population particularly important.

It is also important to prevent the introduction of domestic dogs onto K’gari as they can carry and spread diseases and parasites (including canine parvovirus and heartworm) that have the potential to negatively impact populations particularly when they are geographically isolated.

People feeding dingoes (penalties apply) can also threaten their survival as they learn to associate humans with food through handouts, unsecured food items or poorly disposed rubbish scraps. As a consequence, dingoes may become familiar and lose their natural fear of humans. In some situations, this may lead to dangerous behaviour being exhibited by the dingo towards people. Dangerous dingo behaviour is actively managed by:

using contemporary risk intervention technology (for example GPS tracking collars).
installing exclusion infrastructure (fencing, grids and associated infrastructure).
temporary closure of visitor-use areas.
aversion techniques.
as a last resort after all other risk mitigation options have been exhausted, dingoes displaying behaviour that is deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the safety of residents and visitors are required to be humanely euthanised as they have the potential to seriously injure or kill people.

On K’gari, dingoes at the human interface are further threatened by human activities including:

unattended crab pots and inappropriately secured fishing tackle causing injury or death from drowning, infection or ingestion.
vehicle strikes (accidental and deliberate) are one of the main causes of dingo mortalities on K’gari and unsafe driving along the heavily utilised eastern beach is a risk to the survival of dingoes and other wildlife species including endangered shorebirds.

Dingo sitting behind a bush look at the camera — Canis familiaris (dingo).
Queensland Government

Are dingoes dangerous?

While dingoes have the potential to be dangerous to humans, statistically the incidence of attacks on humans is relatively rare. The risk of dangerous behaviour is greatly increased in dingoes that have become familiar and habituated to humans through feeding or other direct interactions with people.

Be dingo-safe!

NEVER feed dingoes.
Always stay within arm’s reach of children, including small teenagers.
Walk in groups and carry a long dingo safety stick.
Do not run. Running or jogging can trigger a negative dingo interaction.
Camp in a fenced area when possible.
Secure all food, rubbish, fish and bait.
Never store food or food containers in tents.
No food to lakeshores.

In the rare event of being threatened or attacked by a dingo.

Call Triple Zero (000) for emergency services, or text 106 from a teletypewriter or textphone (TTY) if you have a speech or hearing impairment.
For all non-urgent medical assistance, call 13 12 33.

In national parks, any people deliberately interfering with or feeding dingoes, and all negative dingo encounters—circling, lunging, or being chased or bailed up by one or more dingoes, boarding or swimming to boats, tearing tents or stealing property, nipping, biting or savagely attacking—should be reported to a QPWS Ranger, or by phoning (07) 4127 9150 or emailing dingo.ranger@detsi.qld.gov.au as soon as possible. Mobile phone charges may apply.

Related information

Last updated:: 5 September 2025
Last reviewed:: 1 July 2025