Boy, 9, and mum, 24, chased down and mauled by dingoes on beach
A pack of dingoes chased down a French woman and her son with at least one of the wild dogs mauling them on a Fraser Island beach in Queensland.
The boy, aged nine, has wounds to his face, legs and arms, and the woman aged 24, suffered leg injuries after coming across the pack on Eurong beach late on Thursday afternoon.
They had just got out of a vehicle when they encountered the dogs and were attacked as they tried to run back to the safety of the car.
A key piece of advice given to tourists on the island is never to run if they encounter wild dogs.
The attack happened close to the scene of another incident involving a young boy just five weeks ago.
It is believed the same dingo was responsible for the most recent attack, 7News reported.
Michael Schipanski, aged six, was rushed to hospital after being bitten on the leg while returning to his Eurong campsite with his family.
His father later told how he had to wrench his son from a dingo’s jaws after the boy encountered a pack and one of the dogs turned on him.
The woman and boy injured in Thursday’s attack were flown to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, where they are recovering.
BREAKING: Paramedics are treating two people, attacked by a dingo on Fraser Island. Both are in a stable condition. #7News pic.twitter.com/3lqYDdQJIp
— 7 News Wide Bay (@7NewsWideBay) February 28, 2019
“The mother and child had just exited a vehicle and commenced a walk down the beach when they came across this pack of dingoes,” Queensland Ambulance Service director Michael Augustus said.
“The couple both panicked, and ran back towards the vehicle and it was at that time when the pack actually chased them and attacked.”
Rangers continue to warn people about the dangers of the island’s dingo population.
Visitors are told to keep their distance, and if they do encounter the animals never to run.
Tourists are also told not to jog along the beach, and to make sure food and bait is securely stored, to walk in groups, and always keep children within arm’s distance.
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