200 FAUNA OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA 



and poisoned, with the result that they have become scarce 

 animals in many districts, and are not numerous anywhere. 

 The dingo was not abundant in any part of the west, not 

 even in the unsettled parts of the north-west, at the time 

 of my visit in 1889-90; nor do I believe that it ever was 

 as numerous as some writers have reported. I base this 

 opinion on the accounts of the blacks, who are the most 

 likely to be correctly informed, and on the fact that a 

 single dog, or at most two or three, was all I ever saw in 

 the possession of one party of the natives. The animal is 

 so valuable to them that I am sure they would have more 

 were it easily procurable. 



At a distance from settlements where there are no 

 sheep or poultry to steal, the dingo lives on such wild 

 animals as it captures. Birds always form the bulk of its 

 prey, and its adeptness at catching these is extraordinary, 

 quite equalling that of a cat. It rushes on them as they 

 perch on low bushes or hop along the ground, and not 

 infrequently snaps them as they fly past. Such ground- 

 haunting species as quails and megapodes suffer a good 

 deal from the dingo's depredations, for it is the animal's 

 habit to destroy as many as it can before beginning to eat ; 

 and when the female has a litter of pups, she brings them 

 much more than they can eat. She continues to hunt for 

 her young until they are quite three parts grown. 



No Australian animal can escape from the dingo by 

 speed, and such as take refuge in holes it will dig out with 

 extraordinary pertinacity, working for hours if necessary, 

 with its powerful paws. It also digs burrows for its own 

 habitation, but these are never very deep, and it prefers 

 shallow caverns, holes among loose rocks, and hollow trees 

 for dwelling- and breeding-places. 



The dingo never barks, but howls like a wolf, and also 

 snaps like other angry dogs, and snarls. They are said to 

 learn to bark when associated with domestic dogs, but 

 their bark is never very perfect. If they learn to bark 

 like other dogs, it is a proof that they are not pure-blooded. 

 Many of those which roam at large and are considered to 

 be wild specimens are the part progeny of domestic dogs 



