Lost puppy turns out to be very rare, purebred dingo
SYDNEY: He’s furry, playful, and has puppy eyes. It’s little wonder Wandi was mistaken for a dog when he was found in an Australian backyard — but DNA testing has confirmed he’s a rare 100% dingo.
The pup was discovered whimpering and alone in a country town in Victoria back in August with talon marks on his back, leading to speculation that it could have been dropped by a large bird of prey.
Rescuers at first thought Wandi was either a dog or a fox, but months later DNA samples have revealed that he is in fact a purebred dingo.
Most of the creatures seen in the wild are usually, to some degree, dingodog hybrids.
Australian Dingo Foundation director Lyn Watson said that when Wandi “fell out of the sky” it was an “answer to a prayer” — he can now join 40 other dingoes in a breeding programme at the charity’s sanctuary.
“When we sent his DNA off we were hoping that he would be of high content, but we were pleasantly surprised to find he was as much dingo as you could get,” she said.
Ms Watson hopes Wandi — whose unusual origins story and endearing looks have attracted global attention — will help recast the narrative surrounding dingoes and change government policies toward the muchmaligned animal.
There is currently much debate in the scientific community over the classification of dingoes, believed to have come to Australia from Asia about 4,000 years ago.
While some consider the dingo to be a wild dog, many researchers now believe it is a separate species with a range of characteristics that differentiate it from domestic and feral canines.
Often thought of as a threat to domestic animals and livestock, some also argue the apex predator is helpful in controlling pests such feral cats and foxes, as well as numbers of native herbivores such as kangaroos.
Wandi, who was named after the town of Wandiligong where he was rescued, is now settling in to his new home at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary near Melbourne.
“He’s very bright and he seems to be very friendly with all of our volunteers — of course they all dote on him,” Ms Watson said.