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.