A 10-year-old boy was bitten by a dingo and dragged underwater before his older sister came to his rescue following a spate of attacks on a popular holiday island.
The boy was walking by himself near the camping area on the west coast of K’gari island, or Fraser Island, off southeast Queensland on Friday.
A dingo then grabbed him by the shoulder before holding him down in the water when his 12-year-old sister rushed to fight off the dingo.
The vicious attack left the boy suffering bruises puncture wounds to his arms and shoulders but with no other serious injuries.
His family tended to the injuries and did not seek further treatment.
The attack came weeks after another dingo was euthanised following several attacks including one biting a French tourist sunbathing on the eastern side of the island.
Footage captured the incident while a separate video showed another dingo chasing after a boy and man two weeks before the 10-year-old was attacked in the same area.
The dingo involved in the attack on a 10-year-old boy was photographed by wildlife rangers with a bloody gash on its head
Wildlife rangers said they later identified the dingo ‘loitering’ near the camping area digging up food scraps buried in the sand after attacking the boy.
A photo taken by rangers shows the animal with a bloody gash to its head.
‘Rangers chased the animal away from the camping area and we have increased patrols in the region to monitor the wongari’s (dingo) behaviour,’ Assistant Principal Ranger Danielle Mansfield told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.
Dingo attacks are becoming alarmingly frequent on the island with rangers saying they were recently forced to ‘humanely euthanise’ one animal believed to be involved in multiple incidents, some caught on camera.
Two weeks ago rangers took footage of a boy and a man running from the dingo close to where the latest attack occurred.
In April or May it is believed the same dingo was filmed nipping a French tourist who was sunbaking on the eastern side of the island.
Ms Mansfield said it was highly concerning the dingoes were showing no fear of humans and believed it was because they were being ‘deliberately or inadvertently’ fed.
‘People who think it is harmless to throw a sausage or discarded bait or fish frame to the dingoes have caused the current and historic problems we are having with these dingoes,’ she said.
The destroyed dingo was filmed nipping a French sunbaker in a particularly brazen attack
Two weeks ago a man and a boy were filmed running from a dingo by wildlife rangers who have euthanised the animal
‘Rangers have observed dingoes lingering around camping areas and parked vehicles, and that means they’re trying to solicit food from visitors because they’ve previously been fed.
‘This has to stop now, and people have to make their personal safety and the safety of their friends and families a priority.’
She also issued a warning to keep a close eye on children while on the island.
‘These animals are capable of inflicting serious harm, and they have bitten children and adults, and some are quite brazen are not fleeing when yelled at or when someone brandishes a stick,’ she said
‘We have had instances where commercial operators have come to the aid of people who are being stalked or snarled at.
‘We are providing dingo-safe messaging to parents and carers each day, and there are too many instances where children are not being appropriately supervised.
‘On K’gari, this means children and teenagers must be within arm’s reach of an adult at all times, even if you can’t see any dingoes in the area.’
