Dingo Puppies Growing Up
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Dingo Puppies Growing Up
by oneh2obabe » Mar 22nd, 2012, 5:57 am
Zoo dingoes Naya and Mattie became the proud parents of seven adorable puppies on January 30. The four male and three female pups are the first dingoes to be born at the zoo since 1988.
“All of the pups appear strong and healthy, and Naya and Mattie are excellent parents,” says Elaine Kirchner, Australian Adventure Area Manager.
For now, the puppies live indoors in a cozy nest box. When Naya enters the nest box, the puppies whimper and crawl to her belly, where they nurse. The pups’ eyes will open at around two weeks of age, and they may begin to venture out of the nest box to explore the dingoes’ heated indoor quarters.
Mattie and Naya are one of only about 75 pairs of pure dingoes worldwide, so the pups are an important addition to the pure dingo population. In Australia, dingoes have widely hybridized with domestic dogs, so pure dingoes are rare. Mattie and Naya came to the zoo from Australia in 2010.
Naya’s litter of pups is notable not only for its size (most dingo litters have just three or four pups), but for its coloration: The litter includes three ginger-colored pups, two cream-colored pups, and two black and tan pups. Ninety percent of wild dingoes are ginger-colored, like Mattie and Naya. Eight percent are black and tan, and just two percent are cream-colored. Having all three color types present in the same litter is unusual.
Like all large litters, there is a wide size difference among the pups, with the largest pup (a black and tan male) weighing nearly three times as much as the smallest pup (a black and tan female). “Even though the smallest pup is tiny, she is very feisty,” says Kirchner. “She fights her way through the crowd right to Naya’s belly, and has been gaining weight steadily.”
At six weeks old, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo's dingo pups are alert and active.
When the seven dingo ups play with each other, they are practicing their natural survival skills. In their native Australia, dingoes hunt small mammals and birds.
Two of the seven dingo pups are cream-colored, a natural variation among wild dingoes. Dingoes can also be black-and-tan, or the typical ginger color.
Like all pure dingoes, each pup has white fur at the tip of the tail. The pups' parents are one of about 75 pairs of pure dingoes in the world.
“All of the pups appear strong and healthy, and Naya and Mattie are excellent parents,” says Elaine Kirchner, Australian Adventure Area Manager.
For now, the puppies live indoors in a cozy nest box. When Naya enters the nest box, the puppies whimper and crawl to her belly, where they nurse. The pups’ eyes will open at around two weeks of age, and they may begin to venture out of the nest box to explore the dingoes’ heated indoor quarters.
Mattie and Naya are one of only about 75 pairs of pure dingoes worldwide, so the pups are an important addition to the pure dingo population. In Australia, dingoes have widely hybridized with domestic dogs, so pure dingoes are rare. Mattie and Naya came to the zoo from Australia in 2010.
Naya’s litter of pups is notable not only for its size (most dingo litters have just three or four pups), but for its coloration: The litter includes three ginger-colored pups, two cream-colored pups, and two black and tan pups. Ninety percent of wild dingoes are ginger-colored, like Mattie and Naya. Eight percent are black and tan, and just two percent are cream-colored. Having all three color types present in the same litter is unusual.
Like all large litters, there is a wide size difference among the pups, with the largest pup (a black and tan male) weighing nearly three times as much as the smallest pup (a black and tan female). “Even though the smallest pup is tiny, she is very feisty,” says Kirchner. “She fights her way through the crowd right to Naya’s belly, and has been gaining weight steadily.”
At six weeks old, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo's dingo pups are alert and active.
When the seven dingo ups play with each other, they are practicing their natural survival skills. In their native Australia, dingoes hunt small mammals and birds.
Two of the seven dingo pups are cream-colored, a natural variation among wild dingoes. Dingoes can also be black-and-tan, or the typical ginger color.
Like all pure dingoes, each pup has white fur at the tip of the tail. The pups' parents are one of about 75 pairs of pure dingoes in the world.
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