canine
ancestry
Wolves
AMAZING FACT: there is only a 1% genetic difference between the wolf and a domestic dog. It is now generally agreed that the ancestor of the modern dog is the wolf. What is not clear is how long the domestication process has been going on. It may have been as short as 10,000 years or as long as 50,000 years. No matter how long it has been, the process of domestication - where our ancestors removed the 'wildness' from the wolf - involved thousands of years of selective breeding. They took an animal that could well have seen them as food, and through selective breeding, produced an animal that became their best ally. In this process, our ancestors produced hundreds of different-looking dogs. These various "breeds" - as we now know them - were developed for a particular task or tasks. Whether it was hunting for large prey, exterminating vermin, guarding, herding, being a companion or a foot warmer, each breed fulfilled a set of needs in the society in which it was developed.
Dingoes
The dingo is Australia's only native dog, and is thought to have descended from wild Asian dogs. Dingoes arrived in Australia about 4000-6000 years ago. Dingoes may be the oldest breed of dog in the world, making them the closest relative to wolves. But cross-breeding with modern domesticated dogs is threatening the purity of the breed and the Fraser Island animals may well be one of the last pure strains remaining in Australia.
To lose this iconic animal would be a disaster for every species on the island. The depletion of the animals in some areas is already having a devastating effect. The loss of dingoes on the north of the island has caused an increase in funnel web spiders, Iguanas are proliferating and eating the eggs of many bird species. The starving animals have decimated the population of ground parrot and there have been very few sightings of the native swamp wallaby. From the crustaceans on the beach to the birds in the trees, be it predator or pollinator, the food chain is breaking down and we need to act to preserve the dingo and in turn the ecology of Fraser Island.
Fraser Island (K'gari) was inscribed on the World Heritage list by UNESCO in 1992 because of it's natural beauty and unique flora and fauna, the island is an important part of Australia's natural and cultural heritage. The rainforests are centuries old, the "wallum" heaths are of evolutionary and ecological significance and the wetlands contain such rare ferns as the fossil fern (Angioptens Evecta). Much of the wildlife is considered rare or vulnerable. All these species are interconnected and dependent upon one another for survival, even the smallest disturbance can cause an imbalance in this fragile ecosystem, but due to human interference this balance of nature is now under threat.
The apex predator on the island, the Dingo, canis lupis dingo, is on the verge of extinction. Evidence from conservationists, scientists, dingo experts and the local community, suggest that the current management program has resulted in the suffering and removal of a vast percentage of the dingo population over recent years. this is due to:
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Culling by shooting and lethal injection of many juvenile animals, causing a breakdown in pack social structure
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Aversive conditioning which includes hazing with slingshots, electric collars and GPS collars that inhibit the dingoes ability to perform actions necessary to their survival, such as hunting
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Vehicle strikes as a result of excessive vehicular activity on the Island
The removal of the dingoes food resources and hunting territory causing many animals to die of starvation. Dingoes are forced to survive by scrounging on a sandy island. The huge tags on their ears placed there by the Department of Environment and Resource Management, means the dogs are no longer able to lift their ears to listen for prey, leading to terrible starvation. Human interference to the ecosystem has reduced their food supply. Do what you can when you can to help this species to survive.