There has been a spate of dingo attacks in, or close to, the K’gari campground on Fraser Island.
A female camper was bitten on March 20, and two male campers were bitten on separate occasions on March 22 and 28, while on March 21 and 26 dingoes circled and tried to bite people. Two of the incidents involved four or five dingoes.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has also said that dingo packs had bailed up numerous people, ripped tents and ransacked items from campgrounds. Victorian Dingo Care Network secretary and Monash University research fellow Dr Ernest Healy told the Sunshine Coast it was possible the dingo packlived in a den near the campsite and the dogs had been defending their territory.
“It’s not typical for dingoes to approach people in a pack. It could be the one pack,” Dr Healy said. “I honestly think if it’s obvious that the incidents all happened in the one area, it would simply be wise for wildlife managers to close that campsite for a time.”
DERM manager for the Great Sandy region, Ross Belcher, agreed the same dingoes were involved in each attack and said rangers were trying to isolate the aggressive dogs.
“It is likely to be the same pack,” he told the Sunshine Coast Daily. ”Rangers are ear-tagging dingoes in the area so they can monitor dingo behaviour at the site and identify the ones causing the problems.”
DERM has urged visitors to Dundubara-Maheno area, in private camps and beach camping zones, to follow the service’s dingo safety advice and avoid interaction with the dogs at all times.
