Tourists warned after girl, 5, bitten by dingo while second child narrowly avoids attack on K'gari
Two children have been chased and lunged at by dingoes. One was bitten, and the other narrowly escaped.
Two terrifying dingo incidents on K’gari, formerly Fraser Island, are being investigated after one child was bitten and another narrowly escaped after being chased.
The first incident on Sunday at about 3pm on Wathumba Beach involved a five-year-old girl who was bitten on the thigh and received lacerations and bruising.
According to the Department of Environment and Science (DES), witnesses said the girl ran from a large group of people near the sand flats and a dingo ran at "full speed towards her and nipped her on the thigh".
An adult got to the girl, waved their hat to ward off the dingo, and then other adults intervened so the dingo moved on. The bite to the child's thigh was treated by a doctor camping on the island.
Second child chased as rangers warned families
On Monday, rangers were patrolling the beach at Wathumba and advising people to be "Dingo Safe". They noticed a seven-year-old boy wandering away from his family who had been warned of the dangers.
A dingo then began walking toward the boy, who became scared and ran. Seeing this, the rangers and the parents ran to get to the boy as the dingo "ran at speed" and then lunged, "attempting to bite" the child, but did not make contact.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is investigating both incidents. QPWS rangers are attempting to identify the dingo and determine if the same animal was involved.
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There have been several reports of tourists ignoring warnings and interacting with dingoes on K'gari with one Gold Coast influencer even patting and interacting with the animals on camera. Earlier this year a 10-year-old boy was attacked and dragged under water by a dingo and a woman in her 20s was hospitalised after a pack of dingoes attacked her while on a jog on K'gari.
Visitors urged to heed warnings and advice from rangers
The DES has urged visitors of K’gari to "keep children under constant supervision" following the two incidents this week. Below are the full set of rules to follow to be "dingo safe" at all times:
Always stay close (within arm’s reach) of children and young teenagers
Always walk in groups
Camp in fenced areas where possible
Do not run. Running or jogging can trigger a negative dingo interaction
Never feed dingoes
Lock up food stores and iceboxes (even on a boat)
Never store food or food containers in tents, and
Secure all rubbish, fish and bait.
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