Rangers issue warnings after second dingo attack on Fraser Island
Rangers have warned people to keep their distance from dingos on Fraser Island. Photo: Twitter
UPDATE 12PM SATURDAY
Wildlife rangers on Queensland’s Fraser Island have euthanised one dingo that attacked three people on Thursday night, and are searching for a second.
QPWS officers captured one of the dingoes identified as responsible, and in consultation with traditional owners, put the animal down.
The pack of dingos chased down and mauled a mother and her son after they encountered the wild dogs on a beach.
The attack on the two tourists occurred about 5.45pm on Thursday afternoon on Eurong beach, the same location a young boy was rushed to hospital after being bitten on the leg in January.
Queensland Ambulance Service director Michael Augustus said a French woman and her son, 9, got out of a car when they saw the dogs, and “panicked” as they tried to make a run back to the car.
“The mother and child had just exited a vehicle and commenced a walk down the beach when they came across this pack of dingoes,” Mr 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.”
Both were airlifted to hospital with serious face, leg and arm injuries.
A mother and her son, believed to be French tourists, pictured before being airlifted to the #SunshineCoast University Hospital, after a dingo attack on #FraserIsland. pic.twitter.com/0o7HnBoF0P
— Tara Cassidy (@_taracassidy) February 28, 2019
A key piece of advice given to tourists on the island is never to run if they encounter wild dogs.
Young Michael Schipanski, aged six, was rushed to hospital after being bitten on the leg five weeks ago 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.
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.
-with AAP
