Thread: Dingoes attack a woman jogging on Australian island beach and leave her hospitalized

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A pack of dingoes drove a woman who was jogging into the surf and attacked her in the latest clash between native dogs and humans on a popular Australian island, sparking new warnings Tuesday to visitors venturing out.


The 24-year-old woman was attacked by three or four dingoes on Monday while she was jogging on a beach at Queensland state’s K’gari, the world’s largest sand island formerly known as Fraser Island, officials said.


The World Heritage-listed national park is home to some of Australia’s purest dingoes, which are also known by their Indigenous name wongari, because domestic dogs have long been banned. Tourists returned to the island after pandemic restrictions were lifted, and have found the dingoes have become less wary of humans. That's raised the danger to both species, wildlife ranger Linda Behrendorff said.


Two passersby rescued the woman from the dingoes after they chased her into the surf, using the same hunting technique they use for larger prey such as wallabies, Behrendorff said.


The victim was flown by helicopter to Hervey Bay Hospital on the mainland in a stable condition suffering multiple bite wounds to her limbs and torso, the Queensland Ambulance Service said.


Park authorities are considering whether to destroy the dingo pack, which includes one that had been collared because of previous “high risk behavior” toward humans, Behrendorff said.


A dingo last month became the first to be destroyed on the island since 2019 after it attacked a 7-year-old boy and nipped a 42-year-old French tourist on the buttocks. Dingoes are a protected species.


Visitors to the island are warned to beware of dingoes. Tourists are advised not to run or jog outside fenced areas, to keep children within arm’s reach, to walk with a stick and to avoid providing dingoes with food. Dingoes mostly approach humans for food.


The situation would be far safer without tourists’ need for selfies with wildlife to post on social media, Behrendorff said.


“Those people are putting themselves at risk and they’re putting that animal at risk by calling them over to get a selfish shot in order to post that in a situation that makes themselves look like a big hero,” Behrendorff said. “They don’t understand the risks that they’ve put themselves and even that animal into.”


She cited a recent example of a man posting a photograph of him handfeeding a dingo while a toddler was beside him.


“We spend most of our time trying to manage people. Dingoes will do what dingoes do. Dingoes are easy to work out,” Behrendorff said.


Darren Blake, a member of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corp. which represents K'gari's traditional owners, said visitors needed to understand that dingoes were far different from domestic dogs.


“My heart goes out to the young lady and hopefully this hits home for everybody else,” Blake said, referring to the victim of Monday’s attack.


“They’re not puppy dogs. They’re wild, apex predators. Give them that respect,” Blake added.


George Seymour, mayor of the local Fraser Coast Regional Council, said there seemed to have been more attacks on the island in the last two years than there had been in the previous decade.


“Something different is happening over the past two years,” Seymour said, referring to the frequency on dingo interactions with people.


The change was “very, very concerning because it’s extremely terrifying to be attacked by wildlife,” Seymour added.

Dingoes attack a woman jogging on Australian island beach and leave her hospitalized

It would be terrifying.

I reread this paragraph to see if they really substituted selfish for selfie which I consider a more accurate term for the compulsion:

“Those people are putting themselves at risk and they’re putting that animal at risk by calling them over to get a selfish shot in order to post that in a situation that makes themselves look like a big hero,” Behrendorff said. “They don’t understand the risks that they’ve put themselves and even that animal into.”

From 3 weeks ago; 10 yr old and the sunbather butt-bite

And this latest one

Tue 18 Jul 2023
Rangers in Queensland have yet to decide whether to destroy a “high risk” dingo that attacked a woman on K’gari on Monday, amid reports from locals that the animals’ behaviour has changed.
The 24-year-old was flown to Hervey Bay hospital with numerous bites after being attacked by at least three dingoes while jogging on the beach on Monday.
The animals chased her into the water before two men in a four-wheel-drive rushed to her aid.
Queensland’s environment minister, Leanne Linard, confirmed on Tuesday that one dingo involved had previously been identified as a “high risk” animal and was being monitored after an earlier attack.
Linard will travel to K’gari on Wednesday to receive an update on the situation.
The state government has only destroyed one dingo in the last four years, she said, killing an animal last month that had been responsible for several incidents.
“That’s obviously a consideration that will be made by rangers in conjunction with traditional owners,” she said.
“It is a significant step to euthanise a dingo.”

Wongari (the wild dingo)
Butchulla Rangers perform smoking ceremonies for Wongari that die by fault of humans, including vehicle strikes.
This sends them home to Sky Country where Biral (Supreme White Spirit) is waiting with a message through the smoke, to ensure their spirit doesn’t walk in limbo without an understanding of what happened to them.

Woman recovering in hospital after dingo attack on Queensland island of K'gari
11:24pm Jul 18, 2023
Visitors to K'gari in Queensland have been warned to carry sticks for protection after a pack of dingoes chased and attacked a 24-year-old woman while jogging.
It is believed Moreton Bay Regional Council worker Sarah Peet has up to 30 lacerations to her arms, legs and torso after the incident on Monday.
Rangers spent the day handing out plastic poles called dingo sticks as they warned people on K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, to be safe.


The leader of the pack is known to rangers as CC Green, who has attacked a child before and has been raiding campsites. (9News)

Obviously not monitoring the animal real well, while he teaches other dingoes that same behaviours…