Given their propensity to exploit human-sourced foods 22, 23, we also expected anthropogenic foods to occur commonly in wild dog diets. We expected wild dogs to eat a wide variety of food items inclusive of mammals, reptiles and birds. Our primary aim was to determine what peri-urban wild dogs eat and whether or not this differs between regions. In this study, we examine the remains of food and dietary items identified in scats of wild dogs in peri-urban areas of north-eastern Australia to better understand their resource requirements and the potential for wild dogs to threaten locally fragmented populations of native fauna. Despite the great potential for economic, environmental and social impacts of wild dogs in peri-urban areas of Australia 21, little empirical information exists on their ecology or management and empirical research on peri-urban wild dogs is in its infancy 12. Knowledge of wild dog diet and prey preferences in rural or wilderness areas suggests that peri-urban wild dogs might also be serious predators of small to medium-sized native mammals 15, 16, which may also be threatened by habitat fragmentation and other processes affecting peri-urban ecosystems 17, 18, 19, 20. Human conflict with wild dogs in peri-urban areas typically relates to wild dog predation of small livestock and poultry, fouling and underuse of recreational amenities and concern for zoonoses and wild dog attacks on people 13, 14.

Wild dogs are presently distributed across about 85% of Australia 11 and inhabit almost all peri-urban areas within this extended range 12. pure dingoes and/or dingo-dog crosses) are now very common 10. Dingoes have since interbred with domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris) subsequently brought to Australia and ‘wild dogs’ (i.e. dingo) were the largest terrestrial predator on mainland Australia when Europeans colonised the continent in the late 1700s 9. Understanding the food and prey resources utilised by these predators can improve our understanding of their ecology and assist town planners and wildlife management agencies in developing approaches that alleviate human-wildlife conflicts 8.ĭingoes ( Canis lupus ssp. However, smaller predators with more flexible resource requirements and generalist diets are becoming increasingly common in urban areas 4, 5, 6, 7. Large predators, such as bears ( Ursus arctos) and wolves ( Canis lupus), typically experience greater difficulty adapting to peri-urban ecosystems given their large home range and specialist prey requirements, which are often not met in peri-urban ecosystems 3, 4. Many wildlife species must now adapt to peri-urban ecosystems or be excluded from them. The encroachment of urbanisation into rural or wilderness areas has led to increased human-wildlife conflicts around the world 1, 2. Future studies should seek to quantify actual and perceived impacts of and human attitudes towards, peri-urban dingoes and to develop management strategies with a greater chance of reducing human-wildlife conflicts. Dietary overlap was typically very high or near-identical between regions, indicating that peri-urban dingoes ate the same types or sizes of prey in different areas. Dingoes were identified as a significant potential threat to fragmented populations of koalas. Birds were relatively common in some areas but not others, as were invertebrates. Individual species commonly observed in dingo scats included agile wallabies, northern brown bandicoots and swamp wallabies. We identified over 40 different food items in dingo scats, almost all of which were mammals. Our primary aim was to determine what peri-urban dingoes eat and whether or not this differs between regions. Here we examine food and dietary items identified in scats of dingoes in peri-urban areas of north-eastern Australia to better understand their resource requirements and the potential for dingoes to threaten locally fragmented populations of native fauna. Knowledge of the resource requirements of urban predators can improve our understanding of their ecology and assist town planners and wildlife management agencies in developing management approaches that alleviate human-wildlife conflicts.

Wild dogs australia