1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here just a heads up. This episode deals 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: with the accidental death of an infant. We're not getting graphic, 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: but if that's not something you're up for today, go 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: ahead and skip this one. And hey, take care of yourself, okay, 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: all right. There is a good chance that, especially if 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: you have consumed any kind of pop culture from the 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties, you've heard the phrase a dingo ate my baby, exclaimed, 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: usually in a bad Australian accent. You too might have 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: said it been laughed heartily with your sick o friends. Yet, 11 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: if you weren't watching the news in the early nineteen eighties, 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: the chances are also good that you haven't heard the real, 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: unfunny story behind this statement. So today let's talk about 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: dingoes and whether they're dangerous and how they've ever gotten 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: near a baby in the first place. Dingoes are Israelia's 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: native wild dog that came to the Outback from Southern 17 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 1: Asia thousands of years ago. They're similar to feral dogs 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: in the US. Just to catch your name, the average 19 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: dingo is lean, with a body length of about four feet. 20 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: That's about one and a quarter meters and a weight 21 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: around thirty pounds or fourteen kilos, so the size of 22 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: a big, scrawny golden retriever, but with pointy ears, a 23 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: drooping tail, a pointed face, and a short coat in 24 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: shades of white, gold, orange, red, and black. Dingoes usually 25 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: travel in packs, though there are some lone wolf dingoes. 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: A pack will be led by a dominant dingo couple, 27 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: and that pair will typically mate for life. They're also 28 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: typically the only dingoes in the pack that will breed successfully, 29 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: as they suppress other breeding attempts and have even been 30 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: known to kill other pups born in the pack. They'll 31 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: breed once a year with about five pups in the litter, 32 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: and raising those pups is a whole pack affair. They 33 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: have a life span of around seven or eight years 34 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: in the wild and up to fifteen in captivity. Dingoes 35 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: are opportunistic hunters and scavengers. They eat mostly rabbits, rodents, birds, lizards, foliage, 36 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: and nuts. Like wolves, they're extremely smart, as smarter than 37 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: domestic dogs except yours. Of course. They're cute too, but 38 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: wily and unlike your dog. Dingoes have wrists that rotate 39 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: that means they can use their paws like hands. They 40 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: also have much bigger canine teeth than most domestic dogs. 41 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: Their limbs are double jointed too, and they can turn 42 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: their necks one hundred and eighty degrees around. They run fast, 43 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: climb with ease, and jump high. They also howl like wolves. 44 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: You might want to remember these facts for any future 45 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: camping excursions. Perhaps because of their intelligence, These canines are 46 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: generally thought of as pests by humans. Our tumultuous relationship 47 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 1: with them can be traced back at least as far 48 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: as seventeen eighty eight. That's when the British first took 49 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: sheep to New South Wales, giving dingoes a new easy prey. 50 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: By the eighteen eighties, dingoes were invading farms and rural communities. 51 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: The solution was to build the Dingo Fence, a fence 52 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: that crosses Australia for about three thousand, five hundred miles 53 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: that's around five thousand, five hundred kilometers. It still stands 54 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: today and is the longest fence in the world. The 55 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: population of pure dingoes has declined as many have bred 56 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: with feral dogs, domestic dogs, and hybrids, though the definitions 57 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: among those are sometimes contested. One place where pure dingoes 58 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: can still be found is on Queensland's Fraser Island, though 59 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: they're very predatory there, which has led to tragic incidents 60 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: with humans, which brings us to yes, it is sad 61 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: but true. Dingo has on record eaten a baby. Dingoes 62 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: generally don't attack people, but if they sense fear, they 63 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: are more likely to attack. Here's the story behind this tragedy. 64 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty, the young Chamberlain family went camping near 65 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: Australia's famous Oolaroo also known as Ayer's Rock in the 66 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: Northern Territory. A Lindy Chamberlain, thirty two years old at 67 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: the time, saw a dingo leave their tent and immediately 68 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: went to check inside it. She discovered that their ten 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: week old baby, Azaria, who had been sleeping in the tent, 70 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: was gone. A Lindy supposedly cried out to her husband Michael, 71 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: something along the lines of the dingoes got my baby. 72 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: The authorities were called and there was a large but 73 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: unsuccessful attempt to find Azaria. Many people heard about this 74 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: disturbing and horrific event and it stayed with them because 75 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: it's not every day that you hear about this kind 76 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: of animal attack. The incident was a big deal at 77 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: that time. Most people didn't think a dingo could or 78 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: would eat a baby. Authorities suspected Lindy of killing his 79 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: area and then concocting the story about the dingo. Ultimately, 80 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: she was arrested, tried, and found guilty of murder in 81 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two. Michael was also found guilty of being 82 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: an accessory after the crime. There was widespread media coverage 83 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: of the trial. People even picketed outside the courthouse with 84 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: signs that read the dingo is innocent. Dingoes dominated water 85 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: cooler conversation around the globe. Fast forward to nineteen eighty six, 86 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,679 Speaker 1: both Lyndy and Michael's convictions were overturned when the police 87 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,280 Speaker 1: discovered a baby's jacket near an area full of dingo layers. 88 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: It was as Areas. On September fifteenth of nineteen eighty eight, 89 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously quashed all 90 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. That same year, a 91 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: movie known as Evil Angels in Australia and New Zealand 92 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: and as a Cry in the Dark elsewhere, portrayed the 93 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: tragic events of the case. The Meryl Streep and Sam 94 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: Neil starred as the Chamberlain's Finally, in twenty twelve, after 95 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: thirty two years, the coroner officially changed as Area's cause 96 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: of death to quote as the result of being taken 97 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: by a dingo. After the new ruler, Lindy addressed the court, 98 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: she said, obviously we are relieved and delighted to come 99 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: to the end of this saga. No longer will Australia 100 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: be able to say dingoes are not dangerous and only 101 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: attack if provoked. Two years later, Lindy was awarded one 102 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: point three million dollars for wrongful imprisonment the dingo had 103 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: taken her baby. Since the incident in nineteen eighty there 104 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: have been several more documented cases of dingo's attacking and 105 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: killing children, but the phrase truly entered pop culture due 106 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: to a couple other things. What Meryl Streep gave an 107 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: impassioned rendition of the line in that nineteen eighty eight film, 108 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: and then in nineteen ninety one, an episode of the 109 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: sitcom Seinfeld parodied it. In the episode, Elaine is annoyed 110 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: by a woman at a party who repeatedly and obnoxiously 111 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: says that she cannot find her fiance, whom she calls baby. 112 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: Elaine eventually leans toward the woman and, very clearly in 113 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 1: her best worst desay reliant accent, says, might be a 114 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: dango at you, baby, Sorry about that. The iterations of 115 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: the line later popped up in everything from The Simpsons 116 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Tropic Thunder, encasing it 117 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: in popular culture with very little reference to the original story. 118 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article our Dingo's Dangerous 119 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,239 Speaker 1: and did One Really Eat a Baby? On HowStuffWorks dot com, 120 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: written by Megs Barwick. The brain Stuff is production by 121 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and 122 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: it's produced by Tyler klang A. Four more podcasts from 123 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: my heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 124 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.