Dingoes are medium-sized dogs, about the size of English setters.
They are a breed of wild dogs living in Australia and look much like wolves, especially their heads. Most of them have yellowish-brown fur, short upright ears and long bushy tails. Their faces, with large black noses and eyes, have a rather kind look, but their cunning eyes disclose that they can be fierce fighters. They rarely bark, but howl instead.
They like to travel in packs and hunt together. Their chief food is the wallaby, a small kangaroo. But the people of Australia, while admiring their pretty looks, dislike them tremendously because another of their favorite foods is sheep.
It is thought that they originated as pet dogs of Australia’s earliest settlers and that over the years they became wild, until today it is even hard to make a pet out of a newborn puppy. Often when one is caught they seem friendly enough, but sooner or later escape to join a pack of wild dingoes.
They usually travel in small packs and are amazingly tough. There have been instances when sheep ranchers have found one eating a lamb and have killed it, then discovered later that the dingo had not died but recovered and presumably rejoined its pack and continued raiding sheep. In one of the earlier raids it was reported that ranchers in just one area lost over a thousand sheep to these vicious dogs in a relatively short time.
However, in present times it is not uncommon for a rancher to make a pet of a young one he manages to capture. In addition, quite a few are kept in zoos where little ones are born and frequently sold to people as pets. They still often escape when there is opportunity and apparently are accepted into a wild pack.
The damage done to flocks of sheep over the years finally led to the building of the longest fence in the world in an effort to keep them away. The tall fence made of strong wire is almost 4,000 miles long and stretches nearly all the way across the southern part of Australia.
But while this helps to keep them away from the sheep, the dingoes frequently dig the soil away from the bottom of the fence with their paws and then wriggle under it. Only a small number of them do this, and they are not now the large problem once experienced.
A Bible verse, explaining that we should not get involved in quarrels and things that are not worthwhile, tells us: “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” Proverbs 26:1717He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. (Proverbs 26:17). How much better to be occupied with pleasant things that will be pleasing to the Lord. We often need to ask Him to help us to avoid evil things.
SEPTEMBER 11, 1994
ML-09/11/1994