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Child bitten by two dingoes on Qld’s Fraser Island

A dingo on the beach at K'gari (Fraser Island).

A dingo on the beach at K'gari (Fraser Island). Photo: AAP

A NSW boy attacked by a young dingo on a Fraser Island beach has escaped with minor injuries.

The nine-year-old was first reported to have four minor puncture wounds on his leg from being bitten about 9.30am on Thursday.

But Queensland Ambulance Service’s Fraser Island duty paramedic says the boy suffered just minor abrasions on his legs.

He was treated soon after the incident by an off-duty nurse.

The boy and his father were walking past a small mob of dingoes relaxing on the sand at Orchid Beach, the paramedic said.

As a juvenile dingo started to walk towards the pair, the boy stumbled and fell.

“The dingo advanced onto that child and he was scared away by the child’s father,” he said.

The boy did not require further treatment or hospitalisation.

The family planned to remain on the island before returning home to NSW.

The paramedic advised parents to ensure their children are within one to two arms lengths when on the beach in the vicinity of dingoes.

“If you do see dingoes on the beach, put yourself between the dingo and your child,” he said.

“Never run from a dingo that’s advancing to you, always face it and carry a stick.”

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is investigating, but no decision had been made about the dingo.

Decisions have been made to euthanise animals in the past when investigations have found they “present an unacceptable risk to the public”, a spokesperson said.

The Queensland Environment Department initially reported the boy had sustained “significant bite wounds” from two dingoes, but later said he was being treated for minor injuries.

Other attacks have occurred on the heritage-listed island, prompting authorities to increase on-the-spot fines for interfering with the dogs in 2019.

A 14-month-old boy needed surgery in April that year after a dingo dragged him from his family’s camper trailer by his head, leaving him with a fractured skull and puncture wounds.

A month earlier, a French woman and her nine-year-old son were mauled by a dingo when they were attacked by a pack after they got out of their car.

In January 2019, a six-year-old was rushed to hospital after being bitten on the leg while returning to his campsite with his family.

Anyone caught intentionally feeding or disturbing dingoes can be fined a minimum of $2135 per offence, up to a maximum of $10,676.

-AAP

Topics: Queensland
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