“The dingo ate my baby!” That’s about the extent of what most Canadians know about these animals, but that will change for anyone who visits the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo as of today (Fri).
Two female dingo pups have traveled over 14-thousand kilometres from Australia and will be living at the Zoo permanently, taking over the former wolf enclosure. The wolves have moved to the former red panda exhibit.
Zoo manager, Tim Sinclair-Smith, says they have teamed up with the Australian Dingo Foundation and the Oakvale Wildlife Park in Australia to bring international awareness on the plight of the dingo.
Sinclair-Smith explains that their populations are in decline and they aren’t considered a native species in Australia, which means they can still be hunted and baited.
He says dingoes are persecuted in Australia, so the goal is to bring pressure on the Australian government to make them a native species.
How a species is defined can affect whether or not there would be conservation efforts.

The Zoo’s dingoes are purebred alpine dingoes which have a double coat, which will help them in the cooler temperatures, but when the really cold winter hits, the two will be moved to an indoor enclosure.