Observations of Inter-Pack Conflict and Pack Instability in Contiguous Dingo Packs

Using a combination of direct sightings, camera trap data, and GPS collar data, we report on dingo behaviour in two neighbouring packs in Myall Lakes National Park, Australia, following the death of two males from one pack due to inter-pack conflict and (three weeks later) the death of the dominant male (one of the original aggressors) from an adjacent pack. The two packs occupied contiguous slightly overlapping home ranges prior to the inter-pack killing. A period of social instability followed, with members of each pack detected beyond their original home ranges and forming new breeding pairs. Following the annual breeding season, and a period of approximately six weeks after the end of the conflict, territories had stabilised and approximated pre-conflict territories. Understanding dingo territorial behaviour, particularly in response to the deaths of breeding individuals, may help to identify dingo responses to other forms of mortality, including lethal control which is a widespread management technique in Australia, for which the social consequences are debated.