Advertisement

‘Never walk alone’: Warning after latest dingo attack

Rangers have put a tracking collar on a dingo after it entered a K'gari township.

Rangers have put a tracking collar on a dingo after it entered a K'gari township. Photo: AAP

Rangers are urging tourists not to walk alone on K’gari after a woman was bitten by a dingo in the latest attack on popular Queensland destination formerly called Fraser Island.

Authorities are monitoring the protected canine, which nipped its victim on the leg while she was standing on an eastern beach.

The animal was one of two collared dingoes that were circling her, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said on Monday after Saturday’s bite.

The woman yelled and swung her water bottle at the animals before people nearby came to her aid.

She was taken to nearby Happy Valley to treat scratches on her thigh.

Rangers said visitors should not walk alone on the island and carry a stick for protection.

The attack is the latest in a string of dangerous encounters on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, including a woman who was bitten on the thigh after collared dingoes stalked a group of adults about two weeks ago.

In July, a 24-year-old woman was taken to hospital with numerous bites after being attacked by at least three dingoes while jogging at Orchid Beach.

One of the dingoes was euthanised because it had been responsible for other threatening and biting incidents, including one involving a six-year-old girl.

In early July, an eight-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being bitten and scratched when two dingoes approached his family on a beach at Happy Valley.

In June, a dingo was euthanised after a string of “high risk” incidents involving the animal in previous months, including biting a seven-year-old boy and a 42-year-old woman.

Several camping zones were closed earlier in August until further notice, due to increasingly aggressive dingo behaviour.

Despite the growing number of attacks, rangers have rejected calls to cull the dingo population on World Heritage-listed island, blaming visitor behaviour for the spike in incidents.

Collars are worn by dingoes exhibiting high-risk behaviour and fitted with a device to track movement and behaviour.

– AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.