Dingoes help Survival of Small Animals!

New research shows small native animals in the Northern Territory seem to benefit from the presence of dingoes. Dr Mike Letnic from the University of Sydney has studied areas in central Australia on either side of a dingo fence. He found that rather than reducing the numbers of small native animals, dingoes seem to encourage them to flourish because dingoes suppress predators such as foxes. "The Territory mainly consists of Aboriginal land and cattle grazing areas," he said. "And in these areas dingoes are quite common. This is probably why the ecosystems of the Territory are relatively healthy. They have lots of native animals when compared to the sheep grazing country in South Australia and New South Wales." *ABC