Purebred dingoes more common than researchers thought, genetic study finds

New research suggests dingoes don't have much dog ancestry and are more purebred than researchers thought. Key points: Lethal control methods may increase the risk of hybridisation by reducing the availability of pure dingoes The study found four distinct wild dingo populations across mainland Australia The research suggests environments without dingoes can get overrun by kangaroos, foxes and feral cats The research suggested genetic analysis of dingo populations showed that dingoes have less dog lineage and there are more purebred dingoes in the wild. The study indicated that previous research had overestimated the number of dingo-dog mixes and the lethal methods used to control "wild dogs" in Australia were actually controlling pure dingoes. In Victoria, where previous reports suggested the pure dingo population was as small as four per cent, the new study found 87.1 per cent of animals tested were pure dingoes and 6.5 per cent were historical dingo backcrosses with more than 93 per cent dingo ancestry In New South Wales and Queensland, where dingo-dog hybridisation is assumed to be prevalent, most animals were also found to be pure dingoes, and only two wild canids had less than 70 per cent dingo ancestry. The researchers suggested the definition of "dingoes" in conservation policy should be revised to include historical dingo backcrosses with 93 per cent or more dingo ancestry and distinguish them from "feral domestic dogs."