It is claimed the Dingo disappeared from Wollondilly many years ago, but recent sightings refute this statement.
The Dingo, maligned and persecuted by white man for over 200 years, is now acknowledged by scientists and environmentalists as the saviour of the ecosystem. Sadly, too late for many species now extinct or endangered but is it too late for the Wollon Dills?
Last week I secretly met with Dingo Dilly who, unknown to most, lives in the deepest forest of Thirlmere Lakes.
Having just read The Wollon Dill and Dilly Dot Documents I asked Dingo about the legend of Wollon Dills and if they really existed.
“Of course!” she said, “but they are dwindling in number and have to be protected.”
She went on to explain how the dingo protects native wildlife.
Dingoes suppress the presence of foxes, cats, rabbits, kangaroos, emus, feral goats and pigs. This enables small mammals to survive and increase. Where predator control is relaxed, vegetation cover and diversity also increase.
Do you know that since white man came to these shores 10 per cent of Australian mammals have become extinct? It is one of the highest rates recorded globally.
Some are due to white man slaughtering willy nilly for his own interests and some due to the animals he brought here and allowed to roam free. Because man thought my kind was noxious, war was waged against us and we were unable to protect the animals.
If humans know where to find the Wollon Dills, there is a risk to their future. Humans are renowned for killing species they don’t understand or trying to domesticate them for their own purposes.
Did you know wombats and eagles were once listed as noxious because they were considered a threat to farmers’ livelihoods?
There are four types of dingoes the Fraser Island Dingoes, the tropical variety and Inland or Desert Dingoes. My own kind, the beautiful Snowy Mountains Dingoes, are almost wiped out due to killing and hybridisation.
We were blamed for every sheep attack when, in most cases, it was domestic breeds gone wild or the farmers own working dogs. We were even used as an excuse for sheep and cattle losses due to farm mismanagement.
We prefer our own kind and mate for life but when we are deprived of that mate we will breed with domestic dogs. This causes hybridisation resulting in wild dogs who don’t care for the environment as we do.
Most people are not aware the Wollon Dills keep the Dill Weed under control. They are vital to our ecology. If it wasn’t for them the weed would grow wild and suffocate more fragile and rare plants around the Lakes. That’s how the environment works. One species protects another to ensure the balance of nature.
I am a lone dingo in the area, but I must care for the Wollon Dills and will remain here for life. I only hope when I am gone man has either realised what he has done to this planet or another dingo and his family will move in and take over caring for the Wollon Dills.
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