A woman has suffered a dingo bite on K’gari Island shortly after safety advisories were issued regarding menacing dingo conduct.
Wildlife authorities are currently investigating two incidents involving collared dingoes, also known as wongari, that approached a group of adults at the popular tourist destination, Eli Creek, situated on the island’s eastern shores.
Ranger reports indicate that around 11:45 am today, a pack of dingoes approached and encircled a group of seven adults, with one of the dingoes lunging at a woman. A member of the group managed to deter the dingoes by throwing a stick at them.
Subsequently, one of the dingoes moved down Eli Creek. Approximately five minutes later, it stealthily approached a woman from behind, leading to her fall and a bite on her thigh. The injured woman declined medical assistance, prompting an ongoing investigation by the rangers into both occurrences.
Earlier in the day, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service issued an alert via text messages and emails, urging visitors to exercise enhanced vigilance while visiting Eli Creek and Waddy Point near Orchid Beach. This cautionary measure was prompted by previous accounts of threatening dingo behavior in the vicinity.
Visitors were reminded to adhere to all dingo safety protocols, including refraining from feeding the dingoes, avoiding running or jogging, traveling in groups, and carrying a dingo stick when venturing beyond enclosed areas.
Furthermore, rangers have made public a video depicting a hazardous and unprovoked encounter between an individual and a dingo, which could potentially lead to fines reaching up to $2,474. The footage captures a man offering a water bottle to a dingo near Waddy Point, located at the northern extremity of the island, over the weekend.
Senior wildlife ranger Linda Behrendorff expressed disappointment at the incident, emphasizing that deliberate interactions of this nature are deeply frustrating for rangers responsible for managing both people and wongari on K’gari Island.
Behrendorff highlighted the significance of understanding the ramifications of such interactions, as even a single incident can habituate wongari to these behaviors, underscoring the implications for both human safety and the wongari population.
