Dingo pee repels roos

A new study in Western Australia has found the urine of a wild Australian dog may play an important role in the rehabilitation of mine sites.

The Curtin University study has revealed the urine of dingos can effectively repel wild kangaroos from some areas of new-growth vegetation.

Dr Michael Parsons says once an appropriate delivery mechanism is refined, the repellent can be used in newly restored areas of mine sites to ensure plant life can be re-established without being grazed by kangaroos.

Dr Parsons says a chemical in the urine scares the kangaroos.

"After trying a series of essential oils and scary sounds, optical illusions, we actually presented dingo urine to a group of 10 kangaroos and the response pretty well startled us because the owner of Roo Gully has hand-reared many of these joeys and she hasn't had a response like this in 10 years, so we thought 'well maybe we've serendipitously arrived at some conclusion'," he said