The Dingoes of Exmouth
Dingoes face a seemingly countless number of threats every day around this country. But in parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, mange is a significant issue amongst the dingo population. Earlier this year, we travelled to Exmouth to try and document how bad the current situation was and what could be done about it.
Driving into the remote town of Exmouth, visitors are greeted with huge signs warning them of the presence of dingoes and how to stay safe when travelling on foot. The majority of warning signs I have seen travelling around Australia make dingoes sound like they are incredibly dangerous and have their hearts set on eating everything in sight, but thankfully these signs were an exception to this rule.
One of many signs that visitors are greeted with upon their arrival to Exmouth.
I was fortunate enough to have a few locations suggested to me by some incredibly kind and generous locals who know the area like the back of their hands. I set out each morning before sunrise to these locations with mixed results. Generally speaking, I find filming and finding dingoes much easier when I am alone. But the first morning we went out searching with 5 people and managed to spot a dingo in the distance and capture a few shots.
A lone female locking eyes with my camera while photographing her through the car window.
She was a large female and was showing no signs of mange. The sun had only just started poking above the horizon and the camera I was using does not handle low light very well so I instead chose to get some photos with my R5. The dingoes in this area are very familiar with living alongside a lot of people. There is a single road that runs through the national park with cars travelling in excess of 100km/h as well as people hiking on foot and riding their bikes. But they are still very wary and untrusting of people (which is fantastic) so she did not hang around long.
Dingoes often cross the road that divides the national park where cars travel in excess of 100km/h.
I had a mixed bag of success over the next two weeks. Some mornings I would see a pack, pull over and get some incredible shots while others I would drive for over 3 hours without seeing a single sign of a dingo. The encounter that has stuck with me the most though was when I saw a dingo that had been severely effected by mange on the side of the road. She was eating a kangaroo carcass that had been struck and killed by a car and left in a ditch. I think this is how the majority of dingoes with mange are able to eat. I am by no means a mange expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe if a dingo that has mange has been eating a carcass and then a dingo without mange eats at the same carcass, there is a good chance that the mange mites can be transferred to the healthy dingo.
In this case, the mange ridden dingo had its entire head inside the intestines of the kangaroo and when I pulled the car over to capture footage through the window, their they lifted their head up revealing a pretty confronting sight. This poor dingo almost didn't look real. Her skin looked like a leather lounge that had been left in the desert for years; she had hardly any fur whatsoever and infected wounds covering her body. The fact that she was even alive is yet another testament to the strength and resilience of dingoes. Again, I am not an expert in mange and have had no experience with it outside of filming these dingoes, but I don't believe she had much longer to live.
A cautious dingo is a safe dingo.
While the issue of mange may seem like an impossible mountain to climb, there are people working to reduce its impact. Balu Blue Foundation has been given permission to begin treating the dingoes effected by mange and have reported seeing a reduction in the symptoms of the dingoes they have treated. It is a huge job to undertake and they certainly have their work cut out for them but they are a small yet dedicated team who you can support by visiting their website below.
The Ningaloo Coast is an incredibly biodiverse and spectacular area. Home to the Jinigudera People, the Country is made up of sprawling red dirt mountains where the white sands meet the most turquoise waters you will ever see. The ocean is teaming with life from whale sharks and tiger sharks to a beautiful reef that supports countless species of fish, coral and turtles. I will forever cherish my time spent in this incredible part of the world and I hope to visit again some day soon. A massive thank you to everyone who made this trip so special.
