The dingo debate
Read The dingo debate and check the IELTS Reading answers. A plane flies a slow pattern over Carlton Hill station, a 3,600 square kilometre ranch in the Kimberley region in northwest Australia. As the plane circles, those aboard drop 1,000 small pieces of meat, one by one, onto the scrubland below,…
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A plane flies a slow pattern over Carlton Hill station, a 3,600 square kilometre ranch in the Kimberley region in northwest Australia. As the plane circles, those aboard drop 1,000 small pieces of meat, one by one, onto the scrubland below, each piece laced with poison; this practice is known as baiting.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- arid environment noun
A habitat characterized by a severe lack of available water, preventing much plant growth
Cacti have evolved specialized thick stems to store water and survive in an arid environment.
- assertion noun
A confident and forceful statement of fact or belief, often made without initial proof
The scientist's bold assertion that the virus had mutated was met with widespread skepticism.
- bane noun
A cause of great distress, annoyance, or ruin to a person or entity
The invasive weed has become the bane of local farmers trying to maintain healthy crops.
- counter-productive adjective
Having the opposite of the desired effect; hindering rather than helping progress
Imposing strict curfews proved counter-productive, as it drove the protesters into deeper secrecy.
- deteriorate verb
To become progressively worse in quality, condition, value, or strength over time
If the ancient manuscripts are exposed to humidity, their delicate pages will deteriorate rapidly.
- ecological benefits noun
Positive effects or advantages that organisms or conservation practices bring to an ecosystem
Preserving wetlands offers significant ecological benefits, including natural flood control and improved water filtration.
- ensuing adjective
Happening or occurring afterward or as a direct result of a previous event
The sudden stock market crash and the ensuing economic depression affected millions of households worldwide.
- predation noun
The preying of one animal on others for food as a primary biological interaction
Introduced predators can disrupt native ecosystems by increasing the rate of predation on vulnerable species.
- predominate verb
To be the strongest or most main element; to be much greater in number
In this particular ecosystem, oak trees predominate, forming a dense canopy that limits low-lying vegetation.
- recolonize verb
To re-establish a population of a species in an area it previously inhabited
After the forest fire, pioneer plant species were the first to recolonize the scorched landscape.
Answers with explanations
- 14. E
The statement needs a **barrier** built against dingoes that also **divides** two kinds of non-native animals. Paragraph E describes the world's longest **fence**, which is 'there to keep dingoes out of the southeast', and adds that it **separates the main types of livestock**: cattle to the northwest, sheep to the southeast. Cattle and sheep are both introduced farm animals, so they are the two kinds of non-native animals. No other paragraph describes a physical barrier. Answer: E.
- 15. D
'Rival species' stands for the smaller **predators**, the introduced cats and foxes, and 'do not dominate' paraphrases keeping them '**under control**'. Paragraph D says that dingoes regularly eat the smaller predators and will kill them 'simply to **lessen competition**'. Paragraph C also names cats and foxes, but only as animals feeding on rabbits, and it says nothing about dingoes controlling them, so it cannot answer this question. Answer: D.
- 16. C
A **widespread non-native species** is the rabbit, which was 'unleashed on Australia' (introduced) and by 1980 'had covered **most of the mainland**'. 'That other animals feed on' paraphrases a '**huge prey base**' for the feral cat and the red fox. Cats and foxes are mentioned in other paragraphs too, but they are the predators, not the species being eaten, and they are not described as spread across the mainland. Answer: C.
- 17. B
The question asks for a mention of the dingo's **arrival** in Australia. Paragraph B states that, about 4,000 years ago, Asian sailors '**introduced** dingoes to Australia'. 'Arrival' is paraphrased by 'introduced ... to Australia', and the date gives a clear signpost to scan for. The second paragraph of section D also refers to the 4,000 years since dingoes came to Australia, but it only counts extinctions over that period and does not describe the arrival itself. Answer: B.
- 18. F
'Research' points to a **study**, and 'resorted to eating young livestock' to dingoes that '**turn to calves**'. Section F reports a Queensland study showing that dingoes do not prey heavily on newborn calves unless their staple prey disappears, and the study co-authored by Lee Allen found that some of the **highest rates of calf predation** occurred in baited areas. This is research evidence, unlike section G, where Clifford only voices a personal opinion and says he is not convinced. Answer: F.
- 19. A
'A method used to kill dingoes' points to a **practice**, and paragraph A names it: small pieces of meat '**laced with poison**' are dropped from a plane, a practice 'known as **baiting**'. Paragraph B also says that dingoes 'have been shot and poisoned' and fenced off, but only in one brief list, without describing how any method works. Only paragraph A describes a way of killing dingoes in detail, so it is the match. Answer: A.
- 20. D
The question links the **structure of dingo groups** to how quickly their numbers grow. The text says that dingo **packs** live in large, stable territories and 'generally have only **one fertile female**', which '**limits their rate of increase**'. Group structure and growth in numbers are paraphrased closely. This sentence sits in the second paragraph of section D, which carries no letter of its own, so the answer is the section letter D. Answer: D.
- 21. D
The statement contrasts native animals with **non-native predators** such as cats. Mark Clifford says he is '**not convinced**' that dingoes catch cats that often and believes they are '**more likely** to catch small native animals instead', which is exactly that contrast. Chris Johnson argues the opposite, that dingoes keep cats and foxes under control. Stuart McKechnie says dingoes kill wallabies, but he never contrasts this with cats or foxes. Answer: D.
- 22. A
'The income of some people at risk' paraphrases **graziers' livelihoods** being **threatened**. Stuart McKechnie, the manager of a cattle ranch, **complains** that dingoes prey on cattle and so endanger these livelihoods. Mark Clifford also fears losing more calves, but he never speaks of people's income, while Chris Johnson and Lee Allen argue in favour of dingoes. McKechnie is the person who directly links dingoes to the graziers' income. Answer: A.
- 23. B
'Little impact on the dying out of animal species' paraphrases '**few, if any, extinctions**'. **Chris Johnson** says that in the 4,000 years dingoes have been in Australia they have contributed to so few extinctions, and the sentence ends with 'Johnson says', so the attribution is explicit. The other three people discuss calves, livestock and baiting rather than extinctions, so none of their statements can be matched to this one. Answer: B.
- 24. Tasmanian tiger
The gap needs a **noun phrase** of no more than two words naming the predator that dingoes replaced. The question's 'replaced ... as the main predatory animal' paraphrases 'dingoes became Australia's **top predators**', and the text says this happened 'as the **Tasmanian tiger** disappeared completely from Australia'. The answer is copied word for word from the passage and fits the two-word limit. The wolf appears only as the dingoes' ancestor, so it is not a candidate. Answer: Tasmanian tiger.
- 25. rabbits
The gap follows **fewer** and needs a **plural noun**. The question paraphrases the idea that foxes and cats turn to **native mammals** when bad seasons come: the passage says that then 'rabbit numbers are significantly reduced' and the predators are left with little to eat besides native mammals. Rabbits are the prey base that the foxes and cats normally live on, so fewer **rabbits** pushes them onto native animals. The word is copied from the passage and fits the two-word limit. Answer: rabbits.
- 26. overpopulation
The gap follows 'avoiding' and needs a **noun**. The question's '**reproduce at a slow rate**' paraphrases 'reproduce much more slowly', and 'a natural way of avoiding' matches 'an **adaption** to prevent'. The passage explains that slow breeding is meant to stop **overpopulation** in the arid environment, where food can be scarce and unreliable. The answer is one word copied from the passage, within the two-word limit. Answer: overpopulation.