A Dingo On The Bibbulmun Track?

In late May 2016, I completed about 760km of my end-to-end 1000km of the Bibbulmun Track, here in the southwest of Western Australia; I departed that day from the Woolbales Campsite. The day before, I had been hit by a brutal, severe weather warning storm. It was still raining, but the wind had almost gone. By this stage, I was feeling extremely fit and strong; the 20km days of hiking felt easy, and I was really enjoying myself. Before this great adventure, the biggest hike I had completed was a three-night hike, also on the Bibb.

On this day, I was on the lookout for emus and, of course, snakes, as the southwest section of the Bibb is famous for them. I had seen an emu the day before, so I wanted to see more. They are funny creatures in the wild, with their frantic sprint, almost like a panic.

I reached an outcrop of flat granite rock, which was about the size of a basketball court if I remember correctly, and on my right was a forest that appeared to be about 50 metres away.
It was then that I noticed something moving slowly on the ground in the trees; I stopped to have a look. I first thought it was a kangaroo or another mammal. It had short, dark brown, dark grey, almost black fur. But after a better look, I noticed it was on all fours; that’s no kangaroo. Then I thought it maybe was a dog, yes, a wild dog, but then I saw its head.

It was not the head of a typical house dog, which I was familiar with; it was short and round with a long, pointy nose. Its legs were much lighter in colour, almost beige near the paws.
I didn’t think about taking my phone out to take a photo of it. It was raining, and my phone was tucked away in my pack, keeping dry; I had issues with it going dead since Pemberton, and it was almost flat. I used my power bank more than planned in this section.

I continued to walk further until I reached another crop of granite rock. Once again, on my right was this animal. It was so calm, no rush. It seemed like it was following me from the side, keeping an eye on me, but I never felt threatened. It had a similar build to an Australian Sheep Dog, and I noticed its pointy ears. It continued to walk beside me for about another 10 minutes, and then it was gone when the landscape changed.

This experience kept me wondering until I reached Walpole a couple of days later. I texted my friend Maja back in Perth and told her about this animal. Maja jokingly says to me, it’s a dingo! I replied no, you don’t get dingos down here. They are only in the deserts up North, and they’re the wrong colour. This animal is dark brown, almost black. It was in a forest. Maja then suggested that since I was spending the next day in Walpole, I should do some research. I agreed.

I jumped online and Googled Wild Dogs of the Southwest. I then saw something for the West Australian Dingo Association. I started looking at photos and became very curious.
I decided to email the association. It was a Sunday, so I wasn’t expecting a reply for a few days. I explained to the reader of my email what I observed: the animal’s curiosity, calm, and intelligent behaviour. I described the dark brown, grey fur, ears, tail, and nose. I told them that I doubted it could be a dingo. I was in the southwest, and dingos aren’t that colour—they are light brown and beige.

I was surprised to receive a reply from a member of the association within two hours!

“Hi, Didier,
It is very possible that there may be remnant populations of Dingoes in the deep South-West. Dingoes in SW WA were all but eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s.
The colouring you mention may indicate that it could have been an older black-and-tan dingo that was common in the area early last century. The black colouring gives good camouflage in burned forest areas, as it blends with blackened tree trunks. It is a very rare sighting indeed.
It is also possible that it is a remnant dingo hybrid or feral dog.” I replied to his email with still great doubt.

He replied the next day. “I can see your doubts, Didier; this is a photo of a dingo that one of our members owns as a pet, which I thought matched your description.” (The photo is above)

The animal I observed that day on the Bibb and the dingo photo he sent me were almost identical. After further research and emails, I realised that I had possibly seen the first dingo in the area in 40 years.

Farmers eradicated them through the ’60s and ’70s. I learnt that dingoes are excellent adaptors to their environment. The dingoes we see on TV are light brown and beige in colour because they live in deserts, so they blend into the sand. The dingo I saw had adapted to the dark and often burnt forest.

It’s now a great story I share with others. Walking the Bibb gave me daily surprises, and this one came extremely unexpected but one I will always remember.