In 1994, whilst Stockdale Mines were in the area, Taffy found Stocky and Dale, two five-day old motherless dingo pups, at Matthew Gorge. He brought the pups home, nurturing them with an eye-dropper and baby bottle until they were old enough to eat meat. Sadly, Dale was taken by wild dingoes at eight weeks old, but Stocky survived, and settled into life at Mt Hart.
At twelve months of age, Stocky mated with a wild dingo, producing a litter of pups. Taffy kept Casserole, a male, and three years later, Rattatouille, a bitch. Dingoes mate for life, and Casserole found a mate out bush producing several litters of wild pups. At the grand old age of nine, Casserole failed to return after the 2004 mating season, probably the victim of a younger male. Ratty also succumbed in July 2005. After 14 beautiful years of being a loyal and greatly loved companion to Taffy, Stocky passed-on in 2006 from old age.
Then Melaleuca (Luca) came along. Now 5 years old, she is a real character, who loves nothing better than being taken for a walk in the afternoon to show off her bush skills. 2 years ago Luca had a litter of 4 pups, and we ended up keeping three - Derek, Bo and Kurrajong (Kurris). All our dingoes are friendly, love meeting new people and love kids. Mt Hart's resident dingoes are all free to come and go as they please (we do not keep them in cages). The dingoes spend some time exploring and hunting in the surrounding bushland - living as wild dingoes do. The rest of the time they spend at home with us, enjoying human attention and companionship. They each have their own unique personality, and it is incredible to experience the companionship they offer all who come here, and be able to interact with them on a daily basis.
Dingoes differ from domestic dogs in that they cannot bark (but have a wide variety of vocalisations ranging from howling, yelps, crowing and purring), have no dew claw on the hind legs, have no body odour, and only come into heat once a year. Litters average from three to six pups, and are usually born from June to August in the Kimberley. Dingoes are individualistic, highly intelligent, and independent. When raised by humans dingoes will form life-time bonds with a family, or individual.
Skilled hunters, Dingoes are Australia's largest mammalian predator, and have been in Australia for anywhere up to 10,000years*. According to latest DNA evidence, Dingoes evolved 135,000 years ago, predating the wolf. A genetic marker has been found in dingoes that is not present in wolves, marking the Dingo as a separate species**. Dingoes are known to play a valuable role in controlling populations of introduced predators such as feral cats.
Despite the aggressive reputation dingoes have acquired over recent years (primarily as a result of exaggerated media stories), the wild dingo is naturally shy and reserved. In captive conditions the extremely intelligent dingo is fully capable of being trained to be a companion to man. Dingoes will not attack humans unprovoked. Documented and authenticated serious dingo interactions are extremely rare - less than five in recorded history, yet each year 'domestic dogs' attack between 10,000 to 15,000 humans. The dingo is entrenched in aboriginal folklore, and is a totem spirit for many aboriginal tribes throughout Australia.
Dingoes are as Australian as Aboriginals, and should be recognised as natural heritage and part of our culture. The dingo holds everything in balance. It is an icon of Australian heritage.
