Dingo pup on road to recovery after water tank ordeal

A dingo pup saved after spending more than a week stuck in an empty water tank in a remote area north-east of Newman is on the road to recovery after being flown to Perth.

The dingo, named Pilbara, and his brother were found inside a tank at Balfour Downs Station.

Pilbara's brother died, but Pilbara himself has overcome his ordeal and is looking healthy after being taken to Crossroads Dingo Rescue.

Crossroads founder Ann Painter said Pilbara was in such a bad state when he arrived she did not think he would last the first night.

"This little bloke is really lucky - for him to still be alive after all he's been through just shows the tenacity of these animals," she said.

"He is doing quite well at the moment considering how compromised he was when he came in.

"I've got control of the mange, he is putting on weight and he is very timid which is normal for wild-born dingoes."

Mrs Painter said it was likely the pups' parents left the pair in the water tank while they went out hunting but never returned, probably because of 1080 poisoning or hunters.

Mrs Painter and Saving Animals From Euthanasia Newman said they believed Pilbara was a rare pure-bred dingo.

Mrs Painter said wild-born dingos were hard to rehome.

"If he is rehomed it will have to be to a specialist dingo handler that won't use him as a breeding machine," she said.

"They make very strong bonds, so once they have bonded they're very difficult to hand on."

Mrs Painter said Pilbara had been vaccinated and would be sterilised to prevent him being used for monetary gain.