Dingo leaves behind a legacy for Kyabram training program

At 16, Mo lived an exceptionally long life, surpassing the typical dingo lifespan of 12 to 13 years in the wild and even 14 years under human care.

The decision to euthanise Mo was a tough one for the team to make, but one that Jess Lynn, her keeper, said was ultimately the best way.

Keepers had been monitoring her for the past year through quality-of-life assessments and found in the past year, tests began to indicate her health was declining.

“We ran a test at the end of last year, and she came back really well from that,” Ms Lynn said.

“Her teeth looked fine, she had really good weight, a little bit of arthritis — which wasn’t surprising — but everything else was quite healthy … but she was getting old, so we decided to keep a close eye on her.”

Recently, they started to notice a decline in her mental health where Mo wouldn’t recognise any of the keepers, and they knew a decision had to be made.

“It was a really tough decision, but we were able to come to the same decision as a team with our vet,” she said.

“She didn’t have to be restrained, she just found a spot to fall asleep, and everybody got to say goodbye … it was really peaceful for her.

“I think it’s one of the kindest things that we’re able to offer, especially animals at Mo’s age, where they’re being old and, you know, you can just see that there’s not the spark in the eye that there used to be.”

Mo has been under the care of dozens of trainers and keepers who have worked at the Kyabram Fauna Park, but as Mo’s last carer, Ms Lynn believes Mo made an impact on each one.

“I think she’s wormed her way into everybody’s heart in one way or another who’s worked with her,” she said.

“She just has that way which makes people want to do something for her.”

Ms Lynn described her as being a “hands off dingo” and said it took years for Mo to fully feel comfortable with her.

“That’s always how Mo operated … at first, it was like (she’s) going to give you a lot of work, but once you had it, we’d get happy little jumps in the morning when we came to see her — she was a very sweet lady,” she said.

Training methods used to help Mo have ended up impacting the way the whole park approached training methods.

Mo’s care inspired park-wide improvements in animal training, including trust-building, positive reinforcement, and understanding individual animal needs, benefiting all creatures at the park.

“We’ve seen through Mo — rather than waiting until they’re at this older age, let’s start a lot of these similar training behaviours now.”

The fauna park’s social media announcement of Mo’s passing sparked an outpouring of heartfelt memories from visitors, showcasing the profound impact the beloved dingo had over her 16-year residency.

“It was a really beautiful opportunity to see all the support, and I know we’ve all gone through and read all of them (comments),” Ms Lynn said.

Ms Lynn, who joined Kyabram Fauna Park four years ago, fondly reflected on the privilege of bonding with and caring for Mo, describing it as a truly joyful experience.

“It’s a bit bittersweet going up to and seeing this empty habitat where you used to see Mo there every morning … but it’s been a great few years with her.”