The latest dingo attack on a child on K’gari (Fraser Island) is sure to raise questions once again about what more can be done to prevent these sorts of incidents from occurring.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is investigating an incident on Sunday, in which a 12-year-old boy was bitten on the back by a tagged dingo near Yidney Rocks
It is understood two children and an adult were playing in shallow water when the male dingo approached a boy from behind and bit him. The group had been carrying a dingo stick, but had put it down on nearby rocks before entering the water.
When the animal attacked, a group of fishers ran to assist and attempted to deter the dingo with a stick, which then moved away … but apparently then followed the group back to their accommodation.
The dingo involved in the attack has been tagged. PIC: QPWS
The boy was treated by paramedics for superficial puncture wounds and a laceration.
When rangers attended the scene, the dingo was still in the area. Rangers have identified the dingo from photographs and provided Be dingo-safe information to fishers and staff at the private accommodation.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service says rangers will now monitor the dingo and provide further education to residents and visitors to the island.
People on K’gari are urged to always carry a dingo stick. Fishers are advised to move dingoes on immediately and not let them linger nearby.
Authorities have already increased wildlife patrols on K’gari in response to a series of bites and encounters with dingoes earlier this year.
Visitors to K’gari are reminded to Be dingo-safe! at all times:
# Have you ever felt intimidated by a dingo on K’gari, or anywhere else? What else can, or should, be done to prevent these sorts of attacks from happening so regularly? Comment below.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
There’s not a lot that can be done.
It’s a very popular place to camp & dingoes wander freely around.
Unless you want to exterminate all of the dingoes or ban camping.
Take your pick.
Shut down camping on Faser Is.. Dingo’s were there first, hell, even close the island to visitors, the eco system is being devastated anyway, so closing it would be best for it’s environment and fauna.
Totally agree. Sick of seeing wildlife taking second place to the entitled folk who think that humans should occupy every square inch of the planet. Shut the tourism down by 50% minimum and have several areas for camping only. Fenced and also camping…not the stupid array of large vans and trailers. The amount of weekend warriors in their 35 inch wheeled, smoke belching v8,s is just ridiculous.
That’s true the rich and entitled are becoming the only ones who can afford to be there. Lock it up it’s only a sand castle, leave.it to the real wildlife
Give the poor bloody things something to eat, away from where the people want to be.
I agree. They have bear feeding stations in Canada. Why not Dingo feeding stations on Fraser island? Just look at them. It’s obvious they’re starving.
YES. I have been saying that for years!!!
Let’s look at the “ visitor numbers “ to the govt cash cow, over 1m visitors/year according to a local tour worker, Frasier Island is just a cash cow, nothing more. There is now limit to the visitor permits issued.
Used to be a government cash cow
Hving been to Fraser late last I agree with Ric, there needs to be much tighter rain on this place.
Dingoes were brought here from Indonesia, and live on marsupials and kill any animal they see, like our sheep and calves
Totally agree
why are they held in such high regard?
An introduced species
kill the rogue dingos, if they have ben tagged and can be identified, see ya doggo.
Rather get rid of a few feral humans first……
Spot on, there’s the problem
Can’t do that the humans are protected species
I support what Ric says below. Close the Island down and no one goes there at all. This will give the Island a chance to rejuvenate and let the dingo breed in peace without human interference. Don’t permit any one on the island for any reason what so ever.
Been to K”gari heaps of times its not far from my home. Last year saw a young lady feeding a dingo sausages at Eli Creek. Quite a few people including our group took her to task. OMG its a very family area and many parents are sitting under their awnings thinking they are watching but are no where close enough to protect their kids. We also came across a backpacker trailer parked outside Happy Valley on the beach with 2 dingoes ripping into the plastic rubbish bags stored on the side of the trailer this operators would have known this was a no no. We reported the tour company to the rangers hopefully they were given a fine or at least a stern talking too. The dingoes always cruise through the camp sites and steal anything they can. Stole my brothers trackie dacks, jumpers, towels, tackle box and sealed box with bate from the beach along with other stuff over the years. They are fearless, sneaky and fast. Been going there for over 20 years and come to the conclusion personally I would never take a child to K’gari its just too dangerous. Other won’t agree but from my experience no way. We used to help with the 4WD Club clean up for years too and I was once stalked by 3 dingoes. I had left my group to collect a rubbish bag on the first dune I saw a dingo and was watching him when I realized I was surrounded by 3. One of the fellows saw this from the beach and came up to help me safely return. Safety in number, carry sticks and stay together and I mean together. If taking kids keep them close and I mean close close. Footnote: shame on the person who filmed two kids being hassled by a dingo pup on channel 9 news the other night. Put the phone down and help the kids you moron!
These idiots feeding Dingo’s think it is like Discovery Channel.
When RSPSA entered farm with skinny horses, a farmer was punished for cruelty.
Who is responsible for cruelty of dingoes on K’gari. Not visitors, they are welcome as well as Barrier Reef or Nat. Parks.
I feel for Lindy Chamberlain when so called experts told the court that a dingo could not have possibly taken her baby when those of us that have seen them take a sizeable lamb knew full well their capability, and now on Fraser they are emboldened to be attacking much older kids and even adults.
The idiots that feed them have a lot to answer for but they are an opportunistic predator.
If they fed the dingoes on Fraser island there wouldn’t be this problem. They could collect road kill from around the region and drop it off on Fraser island in an area far from the tourists. But they would rather starve and shoot the dingoes on Fraser before doing the right thing.
Agree!!
Eliminate the humans and let the dingoes have their habitat back
To be fair all the dingos on K’gari (Fraser) should be culled or relocated back in the wild and new one bought in so they are not used to people and stay away from and tourists need to strictly follow the outlined rules or find somewhere else to go camping ….as tourist are the one that encouraged these wild animals to become sort of domesticated not affairs of human’s. The public need to wake up and see what’s happening …these so called wild animals will end up taking over the island as they come first before people if you haven’t noticed.
The Fraser Is dingoes are different to others on the mainland. Being an island they are possibly the purest strain of dingo in Australia as they haven’t crossbred with domestic or feral dogs as most mainland populations. Also dingoes in Qld are protected in national parks as a native species. Also if idiotic people stuck to the rules there would be a lot less incidents. Dogs of any sort are very intelligent, more so than many people, & the dingoes have learnt that people give them food so of course they are going to come looking for it.
That’s fair Di but the higher up need to put back their natural food supply like kangaroos etc as we all know kangaroos are wild animals and breed well in the wild as they are free to roam not isolated in one area and if they are they are supplemented. So why not introduce a regular feeding place in an excluded area
the basic problem is lack of food not necessarily humans alone!
unfortunately no humans no feeding of the dingoes therefore they’ll be no dingoes as die of starvation!
The park service give you all the information regarding the dingo just follow the instructions
It really comes down to parents being responsible for there children.
Spent a lot time on Fraser as a kid ,we had dingoes wander through our camp never touched anything. They were fat healthy, there were roos plenty of fish and brumbies for food. Then the professional fishermen worked all round the island and then parks and wildlife decided the brumbies had to go and shot all the brumbies, now the dogs are always hungry. I wrote to the previous government and suggested that they set up a line of feeding stations inland and away from the beach and feed the dogs, also set up a viewing place and charge people to go and watch this. Their experts will tell you that the animals have sufficient body fat and so forth, the fact remains they are very hungry. The other option close the island and make it a dingo refuge.
Agree. But even if the island is made a refuge, there is still nothing for them to eat. They ate anything left long ago!! They should take them off the island and relocate them, or FEEd them!!
Humans are going into their environment and they were there before us. Get educated and learn to live around them or cop the consequences or just don’t go there. Dingo feeding stations might help also.
I had a friend who had been a long-term ranger on the island. Now recently retired. He told me the policy was that the dingoes would never leave and that the tourists would be the first to go
I totally agree with a number of other parties there should be another way rather than culling or blaming the dingoes.
During our travels we had dingoes at one of our campsite and they were so under nourished it was very hard not to feel sorry for them and feed them but know what risks can come with that for everyone at the present and future.
I’m sure the dingoes have been established here and other places before tourism was present and not being an expert on dingoes or wildlife but believe instead of blaming nature especially when they are so desperate for food would it difficult to look outside the square and establish
an environment where they can live without human presence, look another way would you go into an environment where lions live and roam?
Us humans are invading all wildlife habitats on QLDs coastline for nothing more than holidaying and beach swimming. There are thousands of other beaches to swim in why make this island where the purest breed of dingo live, their holiday destination? I’ve visited as a day tourist and dingos scour the beach while looking for food. Children’s high pitched squeals while playing can attract them.
If these attacks keep happening, it’s the people who should leave, not the dingo put down.
Ban the beach swimming from tourists and let them swim in the pool.
There is an obvious solution.The dingoes are underfed, and see humans as a SLOW food source, just as sharks do, if the NPW continuously maintain a minimum number of Scrub Turkeys on the island, a natural Native food source, the dingoes may not feel the urge/need to chase people.
Then, those lacking commonsense won’t have to insist that the dingoes be killed.
Reducing the tourist numbers will also be beneficial