Context

• Dingoes have grown six-nine per cent in size in the last eight decades, according to recent research. And some experts are looking into the possibility of pesticides playing a part in that.

Key Details

• Sodium fluoroacetate — popularly known as Compound 1080 — was identified to be one of the reasons behind the growth in dingoes. This white powder is often used in Australia to control the populations of pests and dingoes.
• Its long-term bio-accumulation in the trophic levels of a food chain is often lethal for animals associated with that food chain.
• Compound 1080 is usually stuffed in meat baits and left in dingo hotspots by dropping them from helicopters.

Back to basics

• Dingoes (Canis familiaris dingo or Canis lupus dingo) — often referred to as Australia’s wild dogs — are listed as ‘vulnerable’ by IUCN.