By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE Sanctuary has two new boisterous residents in the form of tropical dingo puppies and the public is being asked to choose a name for the pair.
The two puppies, which are about eight weeks old, came out for their first public play on Friday 11 July and children and parents crooned and exclaimed at the sight of the animals.
Healesville Sanctuary’s assistant curator of animal behaviour Sue Jaensch said that the puppies, who are brother and sister, were part of the first litter bred by the Australian Dingo Conservation Association.
“Their parents come from the top of Australia, at the Cape York Peninsula,” she said.
“We’ve never seen puppies like these down here, particularly at Healesville Sanctuary.”
Ms Jaensch said that tropical dingoes are smaller and have a thinner coat than their Alpine dingo counterparts at the sanctuary.
The puppies will spend the next six weeks in their nursery while they get used to their surroundings and the temperature, before taking part in a public program.
During their time in the nursery, the puppies will be on display at the sanctuary’s Australian Wildlife Health Centre each day, depending on their sleep times.
The sanctuary has organised a competition to name the new puppies through the Zoos Victoria website and Sanctuary director Glen Holland said the keepers would like to keep the names in line with their ancestry.
“The tropical dingo puppies come from a culturally significant part of Australia and we would like to have a unique name for each of them,” he said.
Mr Holland said that previous dingo names have been inspired by locations, plants or indigenous Australian treasures – such as Kuma, Opal and Manuka – and that he would like to see that legacy continue.
For more information, visit www.zoo.org.au.
