Visitors to a popular tourist island in Queensland are being warned to remain cautious of the local wildlife after a spate of animal attacks and incidents in recent months.
The calls for better awareness comes after a six-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after a dingo attack on K’gari (Fraser Island) on April 3. Two days later, a young boy was bitten at Waddy Point swimming hole.
The young girl was bitten on her head and suffered puncture wounds around her ear, as well as minor cuts to her hands while swimming in a shallow lagoon at Waddy Point in the northern part of the island on Monday afternoon.
According to RACQ LifeFlight, the dingo “held her underwater for a few seconds before nearby family members were able to get the dingo off her”.
She was treated by paramedics at the scene for head and hand injuries, before being flown in a stable condition to Hervey Bay Hospital in central Queensland.
The 10-year-old boy who was attacked on Wednesday had been mouthed on the back of the leg by a dingo.
The boy, who was found by a ranger, had no injuries and required no medical intervention.
Between 2018 and 2023, there have been 33 incidents where a person has been nipped, mouthed or bitten by a dingo on K’gari.
Safety warning to visitors
Queensland Ambulance Services Wide Bay senior operations supervisor Martin Kelly explained authorities are becoming “increasingly concerned” about dingoes “learned behaviours”.
The warning follows a separate dingo attack where a young boy was left injured near the Ocean Lake Campground in December 2022.
The five-year-old boy suffered bites to his head, arm and buttocks.
Mr Kelly said visitors need to be aware of their surroundings, especially in the lead up to the busy Easter period where many families are expected to head to K’gari.
“The more that they interact with humans, the less they’ll become concerned about us,” Mr Kelly said.
“(Easter is) a particularly busy time, the population on the island grows significantly.
“We have a much greater workload from stuff that happens out there, be it from people driving their four-wheel drives and having accidents.
“It’s a place to respect and take care on.”
K’gari is a popular place to spot dingoes, with warnings to tourists to be “dingo-safe” when visiting and avoid contact with dingoes as much as possible.
“There’s lots of information that Parks and Wildlife put out about not feeding (dingoes) and not playing with them, not trying to approach them,” Mr Kelly said.
“They’ve lived on the island for a long time and we just need to keep away from them as much as possible.
“The big thing to do is to remember to camp in the areas that are designated as camping areas, and not to camp by yourself in these areas – to camp in groups of people.”
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) urges families to keep children within arms reach to avoid attacks as dingoes can appear out of nowhere and move quickly.
“Never let children sleep in a tent or camper trailer without adults or wander away on tracks, lakes and beaches,” warning information reads.
Though QPWS says dingoes generally go about their lives and stay clear of people, they occasionally come close to people and “some encounters can turn to tragedy”.
The last fatal dingo attack occurred in 2001 when a small pack killed a nine-year-old child on K’gari.
Other threats on K’gari
But the dingo is not the only animal that can cause harm to visitors.
Five young children were stung by a jellyfish on K’gari between December and January, with some stings suspected to be from deadly Irukandji.
Each child had been swimming in the ocean off the island, off the coast of Bundaberg, and had required immediate medical attention.
The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue team from Bundaberg had flown each child to Hervey Bay Hospital for treatment.
The Irukandji is a kind of miniature jellyfish whose sting is considered “ten out of ten” on the pain scale.
The Irukandji aren’t exclusive to Queensland waters, and can be found in waters all around Australia.
Associate Professor Jamie Seymour, who works at James Cook University in Townsville, had previously called tourists to be banned from swimming in known Irukandji hot spots near K’gari.
Mr Seymour previously told NCA NewsWire they were mainly located in K’gari, across northern Australia down to Geraldton in Western Australia.
“We desperately need more research on these animals,” he said.
“We have a crocodile advisory group, we have research and management teams for sharks, but nothing for jellyfish.
“Jellies put more people in the hospital than sharks and crocs combined.”