Gorgeous dingo pups are running out of time as wildlife rangers desperately seek homes for the litter and loving owners to train them before their ‘WILDNESS creeps in’
- Eight puppies were found near Todd River in Alice Springs, Northern Territory
- NT ranges are desperate to find the right owners for five remaining dingoes
- Two pups re-homed at Adelaide Zoo reported to be popular and settling in well
- Wildlife rangers say DNA testing show the puppies are only 80 per cent purebred
A litter of dingo puppies is looking for a new home after being found abandoned on the banks of a river.
NT Parks and Wildlife rangers said DNA testing showed they were not purebred and therefore cannot be kept at the local wildlife park in Alice Springs.
School kids found the eight pups near the Todd River, which runs from the telegraph station and through the township towards the south.
Eight dingo pups were found by local school children in the Northern Territory with only two finding homes at the Adelaide Zoo
Two puppies have already been homed at the Adelaide Zoo with five remaining left homeless.
Alice Springs Desert Park’s curator of lice sciences, Scott Pullybank, said the puppies are not thoroughbred enough to be kept at their wildlife park.
‘They’re possibly 80 per cent dingo, which is fairly high,’ he said.
‘But it still means that there will be some differences.’
Homing dingoes is difficult as they must be well trained when very young and are hard to contain in most backyards
The search for a home is proving difficult as dingoes aren’t your average dog and they require distinctive training.
All states of Australia require a permit to keep a dingo as a pet with the exception of New South Wales and Western Australia.
Australian Dingo Foundation founder Lyn Watson said it was imperative to find the pups their new home before the ‘wildness creeps in’ as they mature.
‘Domesticated is meaning fully reliant on humans, but they don’t want to be. They’re really independent.’ Ms Watson said .
Ms Watson said new owners must be willing to train the dogs as dingoes are considered to be semi-domesticated canines resembling more of a wolf.
‘We like to use the word tamed, because no self-respecting dingo will be domesticated,’ she said.
It is necessary to have a permit to keep a dingo as a pet in the Northern Territory
Along with the necessary training, high fencing is also a necessity in properly containing the animals.
‘They do prefer to go under, so there will be digging a lot as well,’ Ms Watson said.
Another prerequisite for ownership is a permit which is required to keep a dingo as a pet in the Northern Territory.
Adelaide Zoo life sciences director Phil Ainsley said the the new dingoes were settling in well and are already proving popular.
‘The dingo puppies will go into an exhibit in the natives area of Adelaide Zoo … which we hope will be in time for the school holidays.’ Dr Ainsley said.
He said potential new owners should do their homework before adopting the dogs.
‘As with any animal, people should do extensive research before committing to ensure it is right for their family and lifestyle now and for years to come,’ he said.