Stuck in transit: Dingoes finally arrive in Saskatoon

Saskatoon’s latest attractions have landed.

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo announced the long awaited arrival of its two dingoes.

The pair of dingo pups, named Maple and Yuki, were expected to arrive months ago, but zoo manager Tim Sinclair-Smith said numerous set backs prevented the dingoes from making the over 14,000-kilometre journey from Australia.

“This was attempt number four,” he said. “The previous three attempts we had several issues with the crate designs… but we managed to resolve those issues and Maple and Yuki are here.”

Transferring animals from one zoo to another can be a cumbersome process, but adding in international borders and airline companies stalled some of the previous attempts to land the dingoes in Saskatoon.

“On one of the attempts, Maple or Yuki managed to get a hold of the water line that was inside the crate and pull that out. People would think that’s not an issue, but it is an issue with the crate, and then the airlines will refuse to take the animals on board,” Sinclair-Smith said.

Now that the dingoes are safely in Saskatoon, they will remain under a 30-day quarantine, as is the case for any new animal joining the zoo, before they make their public debut on Aug. 9.

Being an Australian himself, Sinclair-Smith said there is a learning curve as zoo staff become accustomed to the new pups.

“They don’t speak Canadian, they only speak Australian, so I have to spend some time there working with them and translating,” he said.

Sinclair-Smith also took some time to disprove rumours about the new pups and share some of the species’ lesser-known facts.

“The particular species of dingoes we have here are alpine dingoes, which means they have a double coat,” he said. “That’s going to be handy for them living in Saskatoon and the Canadian winters.”

Dingoes also don’t bark, they howl. Dingoes only breed once a year and are considered by experts to be the most intelligent canines on the planet.

“They’re problem solvers, they’re very smart. On your toes when you’re working around them, that’s for sure,” Sinclair-Smith said.

The zoo worked collaborated with the Australian Dingo Foundation and the Oakvale Wildlife Park in Australia to get the dingoes to Saskatoon where they will remain permanently.

The dingoes will take over the previous wolf enclosure at the zoo. Forestry farm season pass holders will have an opportunity to have a sneak peak at the animals before they are officially unveiled next month.