Man bitten by dingo in another attack on popular island

A man has been bitten on the leg by a dingo in the third attack in as many weeks at a popular Queensland tourist spot.

The man was standing next to his car in the Hook Point barge area at Fraser Island, which has the Indigenous name K’gari, when a dingo approached after 10am on Monday.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) said the animal bit him on the back of the leg but left the area after the man got back in his vehicle.

Staff at the barge provided first aid for the man.

QPWS rangers are investigating.

There have been six dingo-related incidents on K’gari since December 10.

All the other incidents involved children, including a five-year-old girl.

Last week a primary school-aged girl was taken to hospital with “significant” leg wounds after a dingo bit her multiple times when she was swimming near Hook Point.

Rangers and the local Butchula Aboriginal Corporation are considering using tracking collars among other options to monitor the movements if the animals.

But they have rejected calls to cull any of the estimated 200 dingoes on K’gari, blaming visitor behaviour for a spike in incidents.

A series of incidents in 2023 led rangers to euthanise a dingo that had bitten a woman on the thigh while she was visiting the island.

QPWS have urged people to be “dingo safe” by walking in groups, camping in fenced areas and not running on the heritage-listed island.

Children should be kept under constant supervision and within arm’s reach on K’gari.

QPWS said it was important to keep all food, rubbish and bait locked up and never to feed the animals.

This article was first published by The Daily Mail on 15 January 2024. Lead Image: A man has been bitten on the leg in the latest attack by a dingo on K’gari. -PR Handout Image.

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