the front foot of quolls shows all five toes (wild dogs, foxes and cats only show four).įor more information to help identify tracks and other signs of wild dogs and other animals see the book Tracks, Scats and Other Traces: A Field Guide to Australian Mammals (2004), by Barbara Triggs.

the back foot usually partly overlaps the front foot for dogs, mostly overlaps for foxes, and almost completely overlaps for cats.

dog toe nails usually point out straight, fox nails point inwards, and cats have no toe nail marks.

dog prints are usually larger and rounder, foxes’ prints are smaller and more elongated, and cats’ prints are small and very round.

In good track-reading conditions in sand, silt, or mud: Figure 1: Relative size and shape of wild dog, fox, quoll and cat prints Figure 2: Usual foot print placement for wild dogs, foxes and cats When wild dogs, foxes and cats walk, their front foot hits the ground first and their back foot print usually lands nearby (see Figure 2). The front foot length of adult wild dogs (excluding nails) is usually greater than 6 cm. By autumn and winter, all wild dog prints are usually much larger than foxes’ prints (Figure 1). For example, in late spring and early summer, some wild dog footprints (of pups) can be as small as those of foxes and it can be hard to tell them apart. The average size of wild dog footprints also changes throughout the year as pups become active and begin wandering around. Wind, rain, organic matter in the soil and other factors can make it difficult to accurately identify some tracks or determine how fresh they are. The presence of wild dogs is often discovered by seeing their tracks in the soil, but sometimes the tracks of other species look similar to those of wild dogs (see Figure 1). Sheep that won’t work into the wind or visit good feed down one end of the paddockīirds of prey in consistenly rough, barren areas where you would not otherwise expect to find much foodĭistinguishing between wild dog, fox, cat and quoll tracks:

Sheep coming into water at a gallop and leaving in the same way (lead animal taking last animal back out before it has drunk)Ĭhanges in livestock or goat behaviour (eg stock no longer camping on the dam or grazing where they always have in the past) Kangaroos caught in fences when there has been no one present to disturb the mobs The absence of young kangaroos and feral goats Unusually high percentages of cows not producing milk Unexplained livestock losses or low marking/branding/mustering percentages Livestock kills and damage, including bite marks or torn ears Wild dog scats/faeces and scratch marks found in similar places (scats should contain hair, bones, scales, feathers, or insects) Points, road junctions, along animal pads, under holes in fences, newly graded tracks) Wild dog footprints found in places where working dogs have not been used (eg around water 1B Australian Government Printing Service Canberra Australia.Select the indicators that apply to you. Walton DW, Richardson BJ (Eds) (1989): Fauna of Australia: Mammalia.Parks and Wildlife Service NT (2006-2011): A management Plan for the Dingo in the Northern Territory of Australia.Strahan R (1992): Encyclopedia of Australian Animals: Mammals.Strahan R (1995): The Mammals of Australia.Strahan R (1995): A Photographic Guide to the Mammals of Australia.Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279(1730):967-974. Oskarsson MCR, Klutsch CFC, Boonyaprakob U, Wilton A, Tanaabe Y, Savolainen P (2011): Mitochondrial DNA data indicate an introduction through Mainland Southeast Asia for Australian Dingoes and Polynesian domestic dogs.Oxford University Press Melbourne Australia. Menkhorst P, Knight F (2004): A Field Guide to Australian Mammals.

(2019) The dogma of dingoes - Taxonomic status of the dingo: A reply to Smith et al. Jackson, S.M., Fleming, P.J.S., Eldridge, M.D.B., Ingleby, S., Flannery, T.F., Johnson, R.N., Cooper, S.J.B., Mitchell, K.J., Souili, T., Cooper, A., Wilson, D.E.Cronin L (2007): Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Wildlife.University of NSW Press Sydney Australia. Corbett L (1995): The Dingo in Australia and Asia.(2018) New dates on dingo bones from Madura Cave provide oldest firm evidence for arrival of the species in Australia.

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