New Guinea’s mysterious singing dogs found again in the wild

The haunting, plaintive wail of New Guinean singing dogs once resounded throughout the island’s lush mountains and valleys. Today, with the wild population thought to have gone extinct decades ago, the songs of these secretive canines—close cousins of the Australian dingo—are heard only by zoogoers.

But a new study suggests wild dogs living near a gold mine in New Guinea’s highlands are in fact the same animals. If confirmed, the wild dogs could help save New Guinean singing dogs around the world.

It’s not clear exactly when New Guinean singing dogs or their forebears arrived on the large Indonesian island north of Australia. The earliest evidence of dingoes down under dates to about 3500 years ago, and many archaeologists think the tan, short-haired, singing dogs—which are about the size of a border collie—showed up on New Guinea around the same time, possibly brought over by boat.

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Credit: Anang Dianto

Two highland wild dogs photographed near Grasberg Mine on western New Guinea

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BY tomcue2 from Chicagoland, IL - Night Stalker

Night picture with noticeable green eye shine off the tapetum lucidum

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New Guinea Singing Dog