In central Australia, campers and other tourists are being warned to be wary of roaming packs of mating dingoes .
Officials say the mating season has started and the wild desert dogs are wandering near popular camp sites.
The two month old child of a New Zealand couple, Azaria Chamberlain, disappeared from the old Ayers Rock camping ground in August 1980 but it took almost 32 years for a coroner to rule a dingo was responsible.
Photo: AFP
The acting director of Central Australian Parks, Chris Day, says yowling by excited males during the night is quite common during the mating season.
"Generally around about May is what I'd always regard as the really active period for dingoes," he said.
"Given we've just had a change in the season ... they do call at other times, but it's much more prevalent during the mating season."
Campers are being urged not to encourage the dingoes by feeding them.
"Our message is to people, no matter where you're camping, [is to be] be really vigilant in not leaving food readily available," Mr Day said.
"Certainly don't attempt to feed dingoes because that just introduces that sort of behaviour and expectation of relying on people to find an easy feed."
