While grey nomads camping out in the bush may have become used to the spine-tingling howl of the dingo, it seems that the wild animals are increasingly ‘invading’ more populated areas.
Dingo researcher Dr Brad Purcell has said that the smell of pet dogs and a scarcity of food due to drought was enticing dingoes closer to people.
“Dingoes that come into urban areas start to lose their fear of people and we’ve been hearing a lot of reports lately,” he said. “For example in Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales and around the Blue Mountains area where dingoes came around a school yard.”
Across in Western Australia, Exmouth residents have taken to social media to report their sightings, which in recent days have included dingoes at the skate park, children being followed on their bikes and a woman who was aggressively approached by one while out walking a pram.
Dr Purcell told the ABC that the behaviour was concerning.
“We’ve seen children die, children be attacked and mauled on Fraser Island and even other areas,” he said. “It’s not common but it’s normally associated with dingoes that have become accustomed to humans.”
Dr Purcell said authorities would generally trap, bait or shoot dingoes that got too close to populated areas.
“But that’s just going to possibly create a vacuum — that’ll attract more dingoes to the area because there’s no dingoes there to compete … so it’ll just be an endless cycle,” he said. “It’s a tough issue to solve.”
In the meantime he suggested anyone worried about dingoes to arm themselves and their family, particularly when walking with other dogs.
“Watch out as best as possible … and carry a sharp stick or something noisy to scare them away,” he said. “They might be able to carry with them a tin that’s full of coins and when the dingo approaches they can shake that tin and hopefully scare the dingoes away.”
Thank you for not covering the conservation status of one of our last native predators. Here is another victim of poor conversation. I wonder if we will remember our dingos fondly in 10years time when they are extinct!