Abstract
In April 2001, a 9-year-old child was attacked and killed by dingoes on Fraser Island, Australia. The Dingo Management Strategy formulated in response to this incident proposed ultrasonic deterrents as one of a number of non-lethal management techniques requiring further investigation. In this paper, we describe a preliminary examination of an ultrasonic deterrent to dingoes using four captive animals as test subjects. Although replication was minimal, the use of a simple experimental design, in combination with a flexible analytical technique, sufficiently demonstrated that the unit tested produced no measurable effect as a deterrent to test subjects.
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Acknowledgments
Mike Noble of the DCESQ graciously provided full access to his captive dingoes and facilities to allow this study to take place. The ultrasonic deterrent units used during this project were supplied by Jim Savage of Bird Gard Australia. James McBroom of Griffith University advised on statistical analysis and interpretation. We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.
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Edgar, J.P., Appleby, R.G. & Jones, D.N. Efficacy of an ultrasonic device as a deterrent to dingoes (Canis lupus dingo): a preliminary investigation. J Ethol 25, 209–213 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-006-0004-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-006-0004-1