Roman Mars

To the Aboriginal people of Australia, they were partners in hunting and waterfinding.

Dingoes evolved as a crucial part of Aboriginal life and often resided in their camps, sometimes as protectors or sometimes as companions.

It's been 30 years since Steve Irwin recorded that episode.

The dingo fence still exists, and people continue to hunt these creatures to keep their populations down.

But there is a growing sense in Australia that this is an animal worth protecting.

Coming up after the break, we take you to an island off the coast of Australia where dingoes run free.

And where a recent tragedy has people asking whether dingoes and humans can safely coexist.

Gari is covered in tropical rainforest with long white sand beaches and a series of spectacular freshwater lakes.

The island is home to a small population of dingoes that have evolved in isolation from the animals on the mainland.

When Gari was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, the dingoes on the island were officially named an indigenous species and provided legal protection, meaning they are allowed to roam free.

And they developed non-lethal ways to manage them.

For example, if a dingo got too familiar or audacious, they would ward him off with safety sticks.

And the tips they give the visitors today are directly informed by the old ways.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Gari every year.

Many of those people come specifically to catch a glimpse of a dingo, this animal that they've been fenced off from on the mainland.

And the tour operators use the dingo like a cute mascot to advertise their services.

Here's an ad for a tour of the island featuring a strange dingo puppet narrator.

There have been a number of high-profile dingo attacks over the years.

You've probably heard about the famous dingo ate my baby case in the 1980s, which happened on the mainland.

But there have also been attacks on Gari.