Nyangumarta Rangers in Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert, about 1,400km north-east of Perth, have spent the past few years studying the dingoes that share their country, working with researchers from Central Queensland University on what they call the Wartaji dingo project.
As ABC News reports, six months of analysing dingo droppings has turned up a striking result: feral cats now make up close to 30 per cent of the dingoes’ diet. That matters because feral cats are among the biggest threats to Australia’s small native mammals, birds and reptiles, with the state’s conservation department estimating that a single cat can kill more than 700 small animals a year.
The rangers have also fitted four dingoes with satellite collars to learn how they move across the Nyangumarta Indigenous Protected Area. One female, named Venus, has been recorded covering more than 180km in a week. The work adds to growing evidence that dingoes can be allies of conservation, and it is being led on the ground by the Traditional Owners of the land.
Source: ABC News