Dingoes and domestic dogs are actually members of the same species, so can therefore interbreed. A high proportion of hybrids make up wild populations in south-eastern Australia, but this is less common in central and northern Australia. National Parks, particularly in the forests between the Dividing Range and the coast in eastern Australia, are very important for the conservation of dingoes. The oldest reliably dated fossil, an almost complete skeleton, is estimated to have an age of approximately 3000 years. Another one, less strongly substantiated, is said to be 8000 years old.
Dingoes are present everywhere in Australia except Tasmania and most small islands.
This suggests it did not reach southern Australia until after Bass Strait was formed. Its absence there may have contributed to the survival of the Thylacine until recent times, as its extinction on the mainland is well attributed to its inability to compete with the dingo. Autumn to early winter is the time when mating usually occurs. The gestation period is about 9 weeks. 3 to 4 pups are usually born from late winter to spring, but sometimes as few as 1 or as many as 8 are born.