{"id":952758,"date":"2026-05-11T14:17:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/952758\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:17:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:17:32","slug":"haunting-roadside-photo-reveals-wild-aussie-animals-incredible-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/952758\/","title":{"rendered":"Haunting roadside photo reveals wild Aussie animal’s incredible behaviour"},"content":{"rendered":"

High in the Australian Alps, a passing driver has witnessed a little-known side of one of the nation’s most elusive predators.<\/a><\/p>\n

Photographer Ian Brown<\/a> stopped his car after spotting a ginger-coloured dingo<\/a> lying on the roadside of the Kosciuszko wilderness in early autumn.<\/p>\n

She was clearly dead and had been struck hours ago during the previous night.<\/p>\n

But it was the dark figure of her mate, standing over her, that left him \u201ctaken aback\u201d.<\/p>\n

The fear of humans compelled two younger dingoes to retreat into the scrub<\/a>, but he didn\u2019t want to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time a car came, he\u2019d run off the road, but then he\u2019d come back and just sit there waiting,\u201d he told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

Brown continued on his way and then returned five hours later with his camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dingoes were still there, waiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

His haunting photograph of the moment shows the male on the hillside above her body.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do love, they do have feelings, empathy,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they do mourn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you spotted something remarkable in the bush? Contact <\/strong>newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The male dingo would run from the roadside when vehicles passed.<\/p>\n

(Ian Brown\/Michelle J Photography)\"The<\/p>\n

The male dingo stared back at Ian, refusing to leave his mate.<\/p>\n

(Ian Brown\/Michelle J Photography)Why dingoes have a reason to fear humans<\/p>\n

Dingoes are trapped, shot, and poisoned by state governments around Australia, including in NSW, where Brown photographed the dead female.<\/p>\n

RELATED<\/strong><\/p>\n

The species is locally extinct in many areas across the country, and where it survives, it\u2019s often in small numbers.<\/p>\n

In Canberra, there is somewhere between 49 and 100 dingoes<\/a> left across the entire territory, while in Victoria\u2019s Big Desert region, the population is likely fewer than 80.<\/a><\/p>\n

Because the population around Kosciuszko is small, Brown had never seen one dead on the side of the road before, nor a pack in mourning.<\/p>\n

How little-known dingo behaviour is exploited<\/p>\n

Mel Browning, the director of the Australian Dingo Foundation, explained that dingoes are highly sentient animals that generally pair for life.<\/p>\n

There are several recorded instances of captive individuals having to be euthanised after the death of their mate.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bTheir grieving can be that extreme that they can lie down next to their mate and starve themselves to death,\u201d she told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

While most Australians are unaware of this behaviour, Browning said it\u2019s well known by one small group of people \u2014 trappers who cull the animals on farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they trap a dingo, they\u2019ll know the partner will be close by,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll sit in wait, and then get two for one.\u201d<\/p>\n

How one dingo death has widespread impact<\/p>\n

Browning explained that the death of one dingo will have ramifications for the entire pack.<\/p>\n

As it\u2019s now autumn, the dead female Brown photographed would have likely been pregnant, as pups are born in winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019s the next generation lost,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they bait dingoes, they do it in autumn and then spring, when the juveniles are beginning to explore out of the den.\u201d<\/p>\n

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