New Guinea Singing Dog Behavior Study Documents Parental Care

Dec 27, 2010
Dawn M. Smith

Animal Behaviorists Study New Guinea Singing Dog - Alice Moon-Fanelli, PhD

Animal behavior research reports on captive New Guinea singing dog den construction and parenting activities. Wild singing dogs have rarely been observed.

In an ideal world, the natural behaviors of New Guinea singing dogs (Canis dingo hallstromi) would be reported based on observation of wild dogs. But this elusive canid is rarely seen in the wild, so the natural behaviors of singing dogs must be inferred from observing captive animals at present. These behavioral studies also provide information that can be used to improve the care of captive wild dogs.

The study is limited in that only one breeding pair of New Guinea singing dogs was observed. This means that some of the observed behavior may be individual to these dogs, not reflecting New Guinea singing dog behavior as a whole. Some of the observations do, however, correlate with previous studies of parental behavior in singing dogs.

Animal Behaviorists Document Den Digging in New Guinea Singing Dogs

A report published in Zoo Biology in 2010, is the first to document parental behavior in this rare wild dog. The first author, Janice Koler-Matznick, is an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, whose training ensures the scientific rigor of the observations and report. Koler-Matznick is also the founder of the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society and a member of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group, providing expertise to that international conservation organization.

The animals observed in this study live in a large outdoor enclosure, which provides a variety of habitat for the dogs, including a wooden shelter. Before the pups were born both the male and female singing dogs used the wooden shelter as a sleeping site.

Also before the pups were born, the female dug five dens. The natal den was located near the top of a hill, a den site which is consistent with the elevated location of the dens of wild coyotes, wolves and Australian dingoes.

While several canid species move pups out of dens, this is the first documented case of a female moving pups back and forth from the natal den to other dens. This behavior has not been documented in other New Guinea singing dogs so it is not clear whether it is unique to this female or typical of the singing dog.

Parental Behaviors of Captive New Guinea Singing Dogs

Both adult dogs were observed to provide regurgitated food for the pups starting at about five weeks. Once the pups reached three months of age, the parents no longer regurgitated food for the pups. This pattern has been observed in other captive New Guinea singing dogs.

The adult canids were also observed to display aggressive behaviors toward the pups as they approached sexual maturity. Male to male aggression was noted at five months as the adult began exhibiting threat postures toward the male pup. The adult female started threat posturing toward the female pups at around six months. This behavior has also been previously observed in captive New Guinea singing dogs.

The dogs monitored in the study are part of the planned breeding program of the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society. The conservation group is attempting to protect the genetic integrity of the captive population of singing dogs as all captive singing dogs are descended from eight or fewer foundation animals. The Society is also supporting efforts by members in New Guinea to locate and observe singing dogs in a remote area of their natural habitat.