TORONTO -- An injured dingo believed to have been snatched by an eagle that then dropped it into an Australian mountain town is on the road to recovery.
The Australian Dingo Foundation charity says the dingo that it has named Wandi was found on a private property in Wandiligong, Victoria, in Australia's southeast.
"We believe Wandi was stolen by an eagle and dropped," the foundation said Thursday in an Instagram post.
"He had sustained wounds on his back, and his nails were worn down suggesting he had travelled far on foot before being found."
According to Australia's ABC News, the animal "was found hiding and crying in the garden of a backyard" and had a mark on its back that resembled damage from an eagle's talon.
Wandi's age was estimated at between four and five weeks. He underwent a DNA test, the results of which revealed that he is a 100 per cent purebred alpine dingo.
"He is living proof that the dingo is still prevailing in its purest form in Victoria," the foundation said.
The alpine is the rarest of the three dingo breeds. It largely lives in areas inhabited by humans, causing fears that it could be on the road to extinction.
The foundation called for the discovery of Wandi to lead to a halt of culling efforts in the Eastern Highlands. Across Australia, dingoes are classified as wild dogs and considered pests, allowing them to be shot, trapped and baited, despite their status as somewhat of a national symbol.
Recent research found that approximately one-quarter of wild canines killed during pest control initiatives in the Australian state of New South Wales were purebred dingoes, and nearly all had at least some dingo ancestry.
Dingo advocates say the animals are more closely related to wolves than to dogs.
Now that Wandi's dingo-ness has been confirmed, he will stay at a purebred dingo sanctuary managed by the foundation, where he will be introduced to its breeding program. An Instagram account has also been created to track his adventures.
Earlier this year, the foundation helped two purebred dingoes relocate from an Australian refuge to the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo. The zoo's manager told CTV News Saskatoon that he believed Euci and Maple were the first purebred dingoes ever to be housed at a Canadian zoo.
