Animal Diaries Archive

Dingoes Go Visiting

6 May 2005

Dingoes are regarded as a feral pest in some parts of Australia, and one of the main reasons for this is due to the death of domestic stock such as sheep and cattle.

Often it is actually crossbreds that are causing the problems, but that does not stop the purebreds getting the blame! Due to this, a lot of people are quite surprised when they see us walking our dingoes through the Kids Zoo. We do this both for training and enrichment.

The dingoes love all the new smells in the Kids Zoo, and enjoy saying hello to all the sheep, goats, calves and pigs. We sometimes allow the dingoes to approach the animals fences to say hi, but sometimes we ask them to walk through without stopping or trying to approach the animals, a very good test for the command 'leave'.

So if you see us walking our dingoes through the kids zoo, do not be alarmed, it is great enrichment for all involved!