New Guinea Singing Dogs at Wolf Park

The New Guinea Singing Dog (NGSD) has lived wild in the New Guinea highlands since prehistoric times. The first known pair of captured dogs was brought to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, by Mr. E. Troughton, in 1957. Most captive NGSDs can trace their ancestry back to the Taronga Zoo pair, or to five animals wild-caught in neighboring Irian Jaya in the 1970s and sent to the Domestic Animal Institute in Keil, Germany. The NGSD was originally declared a distinct species, and was given the scientific name Canis hallstromi after Sir Edward Hallstrom, then President of the Taronga Zoo. In 1969 NGSDs were instead grouped with the similar Australian Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) as a feral (wild-living) subspecies of the domestic dog, and their Latin name changed to C. lupus hallstromi.

However they are classified, the NGSD is probably the most primitive known "breed" of domestic dog, brought to New Guinea by Stone Age man at least 6,000 years ago, and kept undiluted due to geographic isolation. The NGSD offers a unique opportunity to study animals very like the first "proto-dogs" which made contact with humans and began our long-lasting and unique interspecies relationship.

NGSDs differ from more modern breeds of dog in several fairly subtle ways. Physically, their upper first molar, called a carnassial tooth, is large, usually greater than 10% of the length of the skull, a trait normally present only in wild canid species such as wolves. Like wild canids, the NGSD has, on average, only one heat per year. For this canid it occurs in late summer or fall as the hours of daylight begin to shorten (this would be a perfect time of year in its native Southern Hemisphere). Modern domestic dogs average two heats per year that are not dependent upon environmental cues. Unlike any other wild canid, if NGSDs do not become pregnant during their estrus cycle, they will sometimes come back into heat again in 4-12 weeks (Brisbin, 1994).

NGSDs average 17 inches at the shoulder and weigh about 25 pounds. They have a dense, short double coat, golden red or black and tan, with white markings on the underside of the chin, the feet and/or the tail tip. Some also have white on their face, chest and necks, but never as "spots" on their sides or backs. Wide cheekbones, narrow muzzles, tulip (petal shaped) ears that curve forward and triangular, obliquely set eyes give their faces a distinctive appearance.

In general their vocalizations are similar to those of wolves, but the NGSD howl is unique — thus the name "singing dog". The call differs from a wolf or coyote howl in that it varies widely and dramatically in pitch and usually consists of a series of short-to-medium-length "ooos" of different tones rather than a single long melodic note (as in wolves) or a "yip-yip-long-and-wavery-ooo" pattern (as in the coyote).

The behavior of these animals in the wild is almost unknown. Given their physiology and behavior in captivity, it is highly probable that they are opportunistic hunter/scavengers, more similar in lifestyle to coyotes than to wolves. They certainly do eat meat, and many individuals exhibit skilled hunting behavior. The one study of the feeding habits of wild NGSDs, by Robert Bino, indicated their main prey was Cuscus (family: Phalangeridae), a family of nocturnal tree-dwelling marsupials which vaguely resemble opossums.

The status of the wild population is unknown, but many domestic dogs have been imported into the Highlands over the last 20 years and it is feared that wild NGSDs will hybridize with more "modern" dogs as has the Dingo population (which may be as much as 70% hybrids). The documented captive NGSD population is down to about 100 specimens, many of which are elderly or have been neutered. No NGSDs have been wild-caught since the late 1970s.

For more information check out the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society