Dingo monitoring program aims to better understand and protect culturally and ecologically critical species

The first stage of a new dingo monitoring program on Wudjari country on the south coast of WA has used 32 motion-sensor cameras to capture footage of at least 10 dingoes. The program was developed by cultural advisers and rangers in the healthy land and sea program at Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation. Co-ordinator David Guilfoyle said the program combined two different methods of understanding and reading country. “We’re blending western science and cultural knowledge systems together for much more effective results,” he said. “This is sort of the pilot in how that looks.” He said he hoped the program would lead to greater understanding and protection of the culturally and ecologically critical species. “Understanding a bit more about their behaviour, ecology, understanding their health, the social structures of the packs . . . and what we need to do to ensure the management and protection of those populations,” he said. “We don’t really have an understanding of the baseline data and the distribution and the densities of these populations. “We have observations of them, but it’s not enough to make any conclusive statement on their health.” The 10 dingoes were captured in just over a month of recording. Mr Guilfoyle said the cameras were deployed in strategic locations informed by senior cultural advisers. “When we’re talking about a very culturally important species such as dingo, there is a pre-existing knowledge system about their behaviour and patterns, because they’re very much embedded in story, place, names, cultural corridors,” he said. “There is a wealth of existing information from our elders that guides our survey work and what we do.” The area managed includes Cape Arid National Park, Cocanarup and Ravensthorpe, and extends north towards Salmon Gums. Mr Guilfoyle said the program was still in its early days but had already seen results. “The preliminary work is a really good snapshot of the fact that we’ve got quite a high number of individual dingoes,” he said. “Plus, a very wide distribution that is quite encouraging, and everyone is quite excited by that.” He said the program was designed in collaboration with cultural partners on the east coast, including Minyumai and Girringun Aboriginal corporations. “They came visited with us last year as a knowledge exchange,” Mr Guilfoyle said. “We’ve sort of adopted a lot of what they’ve done, and then applied it locally to our situation.”