Q 01/05

Dingoes can turn doorknobs and raise latches because, unlike pet dogs, they can rotate which joints?

A) Hips

B) Wrists

C) Knees

D) Elbows

Answer · why

B) Wrists

Wrists that rotate make captive dingoes famously hard to hold. They use the trick to work their way out of enclosures.

Q 02/05

Which sound, so common in pet dogs, makes up only about 5% of a dingo's vocalisations?

A) Howling

B) Whimpering

C) Growling

D) Barking

Answer · why

D) Barking

Barking is rare in dingoes and used almost exclusively as a warning. When they do it, the sound is short and monosyllabic.

Q 03/05

Which Australian state has never had a native dingo population?

A) Tasmania

B) Victoria

C) South Australia

D) Queensland

Answer · why

A) Tasmania

Tasmania was cut off by rising seas before dingoes arrived, so none ever crossed. Its marsupial carnivores were still thriving when Europeans landed.

Q 04/05

Dingo ancestors faced at least 50 km of open sea to reach Australia, so how did they get there?

A) On driftwood after storms

B) By swimming between islands

C) On boats with people

D) On rafts of vegetation

Answer · why

C) On boats with people

On boats with people is the only way the crossing works: even at the lowest sea levels the gap was too wide. The seafarers probably came from Asia.

Q 05/05

Built to keep dingoes away from sheep, the Dingo Fence stretches roughly how far across Australia?

A) About 60 km

B) About 560 km

C) About 5,600 km

D) About 56,000 km

Answer · why

C) About 5,600 km

About 5,600 km of wire makes it one of the longest structures in the world. It runs from Queensland's Darling Downs to cliffs above the Great Australi...