A four-month project focused on Ngugum, or the dingo, and its cultural connection to Indigenous people in the Byron Shire has wrapped up with results providing information for their future management in the area.
The project, involving Byron Council, more than 40 local Indigenous representatives and rangers, University of NSW and the Taronga Conservation Society, was undertaken in the Mount Jerusalem National Park in the Byron Shire hinterland.
In a first for the Northern Rivers, the project brought together Indigenous stakeholders, scientists and others to look at the dingo, its historic cultural connection to Traditional Owners and, with the use of 26 cameras, to learn about the current dingo population, their pack relationships and behaviour.
Rob Appo, Council’s Aboriginal Projects Officer, said the project is the first in the Northern Rivers to recognise the long history and importance of the dingo to First Nations people.
‘Dingoes are the closest companion animal for many Indigenous communities and they feature in many Aboriginal stories and lore from this area,’ Mr Appo said.
From the end of May to the end of August, participants set up cameras in the Mount Jerusalem National Park and checked on them regularly.
The project culminated in a two-day workshop which involved discussions around the footage and what it revealed, as well as ways to get Indigenous representatives more involved in conservation and management programs involving dingoes.
‘The footage was really interesting, showing dingoes in the area and how they shared the landscape with native animals like koalas and possums,’ Mr Appo said. ‘It also showed invasive species such as foxes, wild dogs and feral cats active in the national park, along with people walking their free-roaming domestic dogs.
‘This project was the start of something that will hopefully develop into a long-running partnership that blends science, Indigenous knowledge and culture with the aim of improving how we manage local dingo populations,’ he said.
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