Black Dingo Pelt

Dingos have lived in Australia for only about 3,500 years, and were supposedly introduced by Asian merchants who traded them with Australian natives for food and other goods.

It didn't take long for dingos to wreak havoc on the medium-sized mammals which had called Australia home for millions of years. Having never seen a predator such as dingos before, animals such as wallabies, kangaroos, and wombats became easy prey. Today, they are considered the staple diet of these wild canids.

Despite their 3,000-year reign as top predator, they are still considered non-native pests, and there is a bounty of up to $500.00 for their destruction in certain areas. They are only protected in national parks. Elsewhere, they are often killed and merely discarded as vulture food. Their skins are not highgly valued, and their meat is not considered edible.

I personally have a huge issue with this wastefulness. So when I saw this one listed on eBay coming directly from an Australian seller, I pounced.

It's about 63" long in total length - large as an Eastern coyote. And though the tan is not very good, I hope to be able to use this for another headdress. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably just add a felt backing and make it into a decorative wall-hanging.

At first glance, one might think that he's an odd color for a dingo, but a friend of mine from Australia said that it's actually not that uncommon, and in certain parts, you'll find more black ones than orange. It's mainly got to do with the fact they're not descended from Asian wolf species as some people believe - they're instead descended from normal domestic dogs, hence the genetic trait for black-and-tan coloration. He's got an odd white scar behind the ears, as well, meaning he may have been in a fight with another dingo, or was perhaps kicked by a prey item.

I may be getting a few more of these soon, but am waiting to hear back from the seller. If possible, would anyone else be interested in buying one? I'll have at least one more black one like this, and possible some orange ones as well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: The seller has informed me that the two I just purchased were the last ones, but that they may have more later on. The issue is that many people in Australia don't think of dingos as anything more than pests to be put down, so they don't usually save the pelts.
But the wastefullness is disturbing to me, so I've contacted a few frinds of mine in Australia to see if they can't do something about it. We'll see how it goes....