Dingoes crave human contact because they’re like modern dogs. All the modern dogs have to be with human beings.

Halo, vibrant viewers, and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants for part one of our two-part series on the delightful dingoes of Fraser Island, Australia. Among the nation's most beloved icons, it is theorized these splendid animals descended from wild Southeast Asian dogs introduced to the continent some 4,000 years ago.

We’re on the beautiful Fraser Island of Southeast Queensland, Australia. This is the largest sand island in the world. It’s over 120 kilometers long, and it has over 40 freshwater lakes on it. This is the only place in the world where rainforest grows straight out of sand. This unique and beautiful environment is home to the Butchulla people and their beloved dingo companions.

He listens and he sings a song of the dog misunderstood for so long.

Dingoes or “wangari” as they are called by indigenous Australians, are typically gold or reddish-brown in color, with long, bushy tails that curl gracefully over their backs when they feel happy. Dingoes are highly social, and while young males might live alone, most prefer to live in packs with up to 10 members. Unlike domestic dogs, dingoes do not bark, but rather communicate through a complex system of wolf-like howls.

Dingoes don’t bark, or cry for help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise
Dingoes don’t bark, but they still need our help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise

Although these beautiful wild canines were once widely distributed across Australia, over the past few decades their numbers have steeply declined.

Another species goes up against the wall, now’s the time we should cherish them all…

Over time dingoes have mixed with domestic dogs, causing purebred dingoes to drop in numbers. Fraser Island, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site, has the largest population of purebreds on the east coast of Australia and dingoes have lived here for at least 1,000 years. The Butchulla indigenous people have resided on this island for approximately 5,000 years and consider the dingo an important part of their cultural heritage

. Your traditional role is caretaker of the land and caretaker of the dingo?

Oh yes, yes. The land, the dingo was included. Every other animal that lived there too was the same. If people took time to notice what the dingo does and what they’re like, they’d understand them a lot better, like we did. They weren’t just an animal to us. They were just like our friends. They always were in harmony with us. Our people used to travel of course from Fraser Island over to the mainland. If the dingo jumped in (the canoe) and came over, he came over. He was just part of the family.

Although most dingoes are gold or reddish-brown in color, the Butchulla have often been helped in special ways by white dingoes, whom they believe possess supernatural powers.

There is a white dingo in our stories. If there was anything that was lost, anyone or anything, they always looked for that dingo. If he came along, they knew that they’d find whatever it was they were looking for.

Aunty Mallee, is a Fraser Island resident and has two dingoes who are her constant companions.

Their names are Pup-Pup and Narawee.

Pup's mom and dad were there first, then they had Pup-Pup. And then when Pup-Pup grew up, well he went and got Narawee, his wife now (Not churched.) No, they're married, but not churched. And the father and mother disappeared, but Pup's been there and Narawee (as well) for a long time now. She’s (Narawee’s) very playful and that.

If I’m walking around the place, she'll come, and she'll jump around in front of me, like she’s dancing. And I go silly with her too, and I start dancing with her, and I said, “Oh well, they made a movie “Dancing with Wolves.” Well, they can have me “dancing with the dingoes.” I dance with the dingoes. Pup-Pup, he can be a bit shy sometimes. But he does the same thing too.

Dingoes enjoy a wide variety of food, and happily consume many kinds of fruit as well as the leaves of several plants.

Yes, yes, they would eat the figs, the fig fruit. They'd eat the mangos. There's passion fruit around. So yes, they actually ate a lot of fruit on the island. Yes, they love the coconuts. (It) takes them hours, sucking on the fibrous parts of the coconut to get to them. So yes, they loved it.

When it comes to looking for food, dingoes can sometimes be quite mischievous, going right into people's houses or campsites in search of tasty morsels. Norma Hannant, who has lived on Fraser Island for over 40 years, fondly remembers one dingo who loved candy.

I can tell you some really funny things about, I call them “my dingoes,” because there were about seven of them that lived around my resort. And at the back door we had a little half gate so the little kids couldn’t get in or get out. And if we’d left that open after the boys had brought a load of groceries or something in, the dingoes would be outside just lying under the trees. And we’d hear a noise in the shop and we’d say, “Oh, there’s nobody come through the front door.” And we’d walk around the side, and he’d be just walking along, sniffing at the lollies.

Joanne McKay, who gives guided tours of beautiful Fraser Island, has become friends with several dingoes.

Now this is a perfect example of the dingoes on Fraser Island. They’re very social creatures. As you can see, they’re quite relaxed. Now this is an offspring of a pup last year. Now this, “Little Mum,” we nicknamed her, because she was a little mum. And of course Little Mum had seven pups. This is one of the three. We are privileged. I feel so fortunate to have lived here for two years, and have them allow me to be in their life, to watch them interact, to watch them raise their pups.

Sadly, the current estimated population of dingoes on Fraser Island is less than 100. Debbie Witteman, another member of the Butchulla people, helped put together a music album to raise awareness about their fast dwindling numbers and the need to save them.

If you listen, you’ll hear the call, of the land that’s been singing a song…

It’s a call for everybody to try and help us and be aware of what’s happening on the island, because they’re the last purebred dingoes in Australia. The dingoes were a big part of our life and interacted with our people. And they were just like a domestic animal with us. When Aunty Ethel used to talk to us as kids, she used to say that they used to gather all the dingoes around the little kids, and they were used as body warmth in winter.

So they were actually a major part of our family. They would help, gather the food and everything. And we always made sure that they had a full belly as well as us. When I was young, we had dingoes in the backyard, and we used to always play with them all the time. They’re not like any normal dog, domestic dog. They’re very smart, very intelligent. And it’s just great being around them.

Dingoes don’t bark or cry for help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise
Dingoes don’t bark, but they still need our help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise

To support dingo protection efforts on Fraser Island, Robin Wells, keyboardist for the band Badtjala Wangari, composed a loving tribute to these canines. Other members of Badtjala Wangari include lead vocalist Cathy Tapper and her two daughters – 17-year old guitarist Pania and 12-year old bass guitarist Erana. The Tappers, who have their own band called “The Tapper Girls” as well, live in Kandanga, a small town on the eastern coast of Australia.

The song is “Dingoes Don’t Bark.” Robin Wells approached a friend of ours, Debbie (Witteman) and she approached us about the song. Debbie is a descendant from Fraser Island, and is very passionate about the song, and the cause and the dingoes, (which are) pretty well near extinction. And, this song is a beautiful song. It’s very simple, but has a strong message.

It talks about cherishing the species and reflects on all sorts of animals and species, not just the dingo. But the dingo is in a sad position at the moment, and we are only too happy to perform the song.

That’s fantastic. Have you come across dingoes yourself, and what effect did it have on you personally when you saw them? How did it feel?

Oh it’s nice to see them, and I’ve been so lucky that we could just take a day trip over to Fraser Island and they were pretty much there. There were a couple on the beach, they were watching and looking.

Cathy you are from a Maori background. Do you find any similarities between yourself and the indigenous people of Fraser Island?

Definitely. Aboriginals and Maoris have, I believe, the same responsibility to the land and the animals and the birds, so we have a deep respect for the land, the animals, and the birds. And, I think that’s very important, and a lot of indigenous people around the world would feel the same way, I believe.

I’ve heard the album. It seems to have a very powerful effect on people when they hear it. Can you tell us the message that you intended to put into the song, when you wrote, when you sang it?

We have to cherish the species, and the dingo in particular and that we have to understand, and listen. And through listening you will understand that it’s important that this species stay alive forever.

How do dingo family members treat each other? What is unique about a dingo greeting? Learn the answers to these intriguing questions and find out many more fun facts about these marvelous animals by joining us again tomorrow on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants for the conclusion of our two-part series on the dingoes of Fraser Island.

Badtjala Wangari’s CD “Dingoes Don’t Bark” is available at

Thank you, gentle viewers, for your company on today’s show. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May you be always graced with wisdom and inner peace.

Fraser Island is very, very important and is an icon to all Queenslanders and a lot of people from overseas as well. We need protection of all of the animals, from the dingoes all the way through to the rest of the animals that live on the island and the plant life.

Hallo, warm-hearted viewers, and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. This episode we present the conclusion of our two-part series on Australia’s wonderful wild dogs, the delightful dingoes.

Today we’ll meet Australian wildlife photographer and artist Jennifer Parkhurst, who has spent seven years observing, photographing and painting the beautiful dingoes of Fraser Island which is located off the coast of eastern Australia and is part of Queensland state. Due to her love, compassion, and enthusiasm for these animals, Ms. Parkhurst is known as "the Dingo Whisperer."

Dingoes don’t bark, or cry for help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise
Dingoes don’t bark, but they still need our help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise

I guess I’ve always been interested in wildlife. I’ve traveled a lot around Australia, spent a lot of years watching dingoes from a distance and so on. And when I came to Fraser Island, I just basically fell in love with them and that was the end of the story. It just really happened. The local indigenous people were happy that there was somebody that was looking after the dingoes for them, and so they gave me the name “Nabar Wangari Urin” which means “Our sister dingo woman,” which I guess sort of translated to “Dingo Whisperer.”

Over time dingoes have mixed with domestic dogs, causing purebred dingoes to drop in numbers. Fraser Island, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site, has the largest population of purebreds on the east coast of Australia and dingoes have lived here for at least 1,000 years.

Another species goes up against the wall, now’s the time we should cherish them all…

Dingoes were once numerous and found in every state of Australia except for the island of Tasmania. But as a result of habitat loss, being purposely poisoned or shot out due to human ignorance, and government culling, their numbers have severely declined.

They’re endangered on the (Australian) mainland and they’re endangered on Fraser Island. There are not a lot of dingoes and it’s very difficult to count them. We think Victoria (state) may have something like a hundred and I don’t really know about the other states. Fraser Island, the official numbers are between a hundred and two hundred dingoes. But actually we think it’s probably more like 50 adults.

Ms. Parkhurst is vice president of the non-profit organization Save Fraser Island Dingoes, which seeks to preserve the remaining dingoes on the island and conduct research on their complex social structure. An important international scientific study has shown that dingoes are truly unique wild dogs. Given their genetic line, the findings confirm that the Fraser Island dingoes are indeed very special.

Only yesterday a report was released. Alan Wilton from the University of New South Wales has been working in conjunction with UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) and one of the other universities over there, with genetics experts. And they’ve been tracing the history of the dingo through the genetic link. And they found that the dingo is the purest of all wild dogs in the world apart from the wolves. So there are dingoes in other countries, but the Australian dingo is the purest in the world. It’s official and it’s going to be published. The Fraser Island dingo is the purest of all dingoes in Australia.

Through years of closely observing dingoes, Jennifer Parkhurst has come to understand their deeply sensitive nature.

The emotional life of dingoes is what makes them so special. They’re a very family-oriented animal. And just the way that they interact with each other, it’s really clear that they do have emotions and that they do care about each other. Also, dingoes are unique as far as wild animals go in that they have a long history of companionship with people. They like companionship with each other. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, how hot it is or anything like that, they always snuggle up close together when they’re having their daily naps.

They have a beautiful greeting ceremony. Every single time they greet each other, even if they’ve only been gone for half an hour, they come up and they go through this awesome ceremony. So if it’s a big family group, there’re six or eight members, the greeting ceremony can take a long time because every individual greets each other. If I was there during the greeting ceremony, they would try and engage me in the greeting ceremony. So if I got down on my hands and knees they would actually rub my nose.

If you listen, you’ll hear the call, of the land that’s been singing a song…

Ms. Parkhurst has been fortunate to discover another of the canines’ caring customs.

I was walking along the beach one morning following this group of dingoes. It was pre-dawn. It was very dark. I was having trouble keeping track of them. And we were sort of weaving in and out of the beach and the bush and so forth. At one stage I lost them and I really couldn’t find them. So I just sort of stopped and paused and heard a howl begin and realized it was a chorus howl. So I was able to locate the family and actually witness this chorus howl, which is such a beautiful thing.

I wondered why they were howling. And then I looked across and realized the Sun was just peeking above the horizon. And I thought, “I bet that dingoes howl every morning at the Sun.” Wolves are known for howling at the moon, and I think that dingoes howl at the Sun. And I think that what they’re doing is they’re counting their numbers because they can hear each individual voice. So they’re counting just to make sure everybody’s still there.

The following story is yet another example of how the dingoes of Fraser Island love and trust Jennifer Parkhurst.

I met Kirra about five years ago when she was a puppy. And I was just on the beach picking up marine debris. She’d been playing in the water and she just came running up to me and exhibited all that play behavior kind of stuff. And we had a bit of a play and then she just sat down beside me and the friendship started from there.

It was completely her choice and that’s so special, just to have a wild animal choose to come and be your friend. We admire canine dogs because they are so loyal, but to have a wild animal loyal to you is just incredible. They don’t have to be. They owe us nothing. They just give it freely of their own choice.

The beautiful, gentle Kirra is a loyal friend and shows great concern for Ms. Parkhurst’s well-being.

Every moment spent with the dingoes just taught me something and has given me something. It’s all been so precious. I believe that Kirra would risk her life for me without thinking twice about it.

And at one stage there was a man that was harassing me and he was stalking to me through the bush. And I became fairly frightened. He raised his voice and so forth. And Kirra just came tearing out of the bush and placed herself right between the pair of us and bristled and whatever and scared the daylights out of him. And she stayed with me until she knew that I was safe again, which was just extraordinary.

Kirra’s family members have also looked out for Jennifer Parkhurst’s safety.

There was one occasion when I was lost. I’m diabetic and I had just enough supplies to get myself through for another couple of hours. But I did start to panic because I was deep in the bush and I had absolutely no idea where I was going. And I just screamed out for Kirra. I didn’t know if she was anywhere near there. And Kirra didn’t actually come along but another member of the family group did just come along and found me and led me out of the bush.

Between the ages of one and two years, female dingoes carefully select mates, remaining with their partners for the rest of their lives. And when a female becomes pregnant, she finds a sheltered area such as an abandoned burrow, hollow log or space under a boulder and gives birth to her litter. She then feeds her precious babies with her milk until they can eat solid food. But she is not alone in her task, as her entire pack helps in raising the babies.

When they’re raising pups the entire pack gets involved. And the effort that they go to ensure the survival of those pups is just incredible to watch. It’s something that I can hardly even describe and goes to show why family is important, why the family has to remain intact and why we can’t just go and destroy members of the family. Last year’s pups become alloparental helpers.

All the members of the pack provision the pups. So they go out and they eat the food and they bring it back and regurgitate it. And dingoes provision their pups in that way. So it’s very special. The fathers have a particular role in the family. They chastise the pups and teach them the rules and the social skills that they need. And look, the parents do self-sacrifice.

I’ve watched mothers nursing for three months, which is way beyond what a canine would nurse a pup. And they’re doing it at the detriment of their own welfare. The other members of the pack also provision the mother while she’s nursing. So you’ve got lots of adults that come in and actually feed the mother so she’s got enough strength in her body to provide the milk for the pups.

Dingoes don’t bark, or cry for help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise
Dingoes don’t bark, but they still need our help
Dingoes on the Island of Paradise

Many thanks Jennifer Parkhurst for dedicating your life to protecting the magnificent dingoes of Fraser Island and helping many to understand their deeply loving nature. We pray that generations to come will also enjoy the company of these charming and sweet animals.

For more details on Jennifer Parkhurst, please visit To learn more about Save Fraser Island Dingoes and for a copy of Badtjala Wangari’s CD “Dingoes Don’t Bark,” please visit

Thank you kind viewers for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Enlightening Entertainment is up next, after Noteworthy News. May we all cherish and care for our amazing animal friends wherever they may be.