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Species of the month

Dingo

Some facts about this dog:

Average length: 117 to 124 cm from nose to tail tip.
Average weight: 13 to 20 kg.
Life span: About five or six years in the wild.
Feeding: Opportunistic carnivores (meat eating) predators. They prefer mammals but the diet can be supplemented by reptiles and insects.
Protection status: Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Range: Australia (except Tasmania) and Southeast Asia, mainly Thailand.

Canis lupus dingo, is a wild form of the domestic dog. It came to Australia from Asia between 1,000 and 5,000 years ago, carried there by seafaring Aboriginal people. The mate chosen by a dingo is for lifetime and the pups born are raised by both the male and the female. Breeding takes place only once a year; the litter is of 4 or 5 pups. After being weaned at 2 months, the mother regurgitates food for the pups until they are about 4 months old. Dingoes do not bark, but they do howl.

(Archived from Template:Species of the week)