A dingo responsible for several serious incidents on K’gari has been euthanised.
The tagged dingo has displayed increasingly dangerous behaviour including two separate attacks in recent weeks on young children in the Hook Point area.
The most recent incident happened on Monday when a man was bitten on the back of the leg, also at Hook Point.
Due to the escalation of the animal’s behaviour, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) made the difficult decision to euthanise the dingo yesterday afternoon.
A QPWS spokesperson said euthanising a dingo is a last resort, as it can interrupt the island’s natural ecological and cultural wellbeing, and impacts our rangers and the Butchulla people, particularly if visitors have not complied with our Be Dingo-safe! advice.
They said the decision is in line with the Fraser Island Dingo Conservation and Risk Management Strategy, and is part of our commitment to maintain the safety of everyone who visits or lives on K’gari.
People are encouraged to Be dingo-safe! and report any negative dingo encounters to a QPWS ranger, or phone 07 4127 9150 or email dingo.ranger@des.qld.gov.au as soon as possible.
Visitors to K’gari are reminded to Be dingo-safe! at all times.
Five Irukandji stings since Sunday
Meanwhile, there has been another suspected Irukandji sting on K’gari.
A teenage girl is the fifth victim since Sunday.
She was flown to hospital in a stable condition after being stung on her hand on the island around 1pm yesterday.
It’s the same area where an infant and man were stung on Monday.
Two people were stung on Sunday.
James Cook University expert, Associate Professor Jamie Seymour, says Irukandji have been moving further south as ocean temperatures increase.
He believes more people are being stung because more people are visiting K’Gari and the ocean temperature further south is heating up.
Assoc Prof Seymour said, “To me it beggars belief that everybody is going oh yeah, you know it’s okay, lets not worry about it. Irukandji in Queenslad put more people in hospital and cost us more in medical health than sharks and crocodiles combined.”
“If I say to you there’s sharks in the water you immediately go, oh yeah okay, I don’t think I’ll go in there because sharks could kill me.
“Now if I go there’s a little jellyfish the size of your thumb, most people go oh a jellyfish.
“I don’t need to worry about that. There’s a complete lack of understanding and education with these animals,’ Assoc Professor Seymour said.
The mother of a young girl stung on K’gari this week has called for wash down stations but Assoc Prof said that is a waste of time.
She also wants more signage but he said there is already adequate warning messages but people don’t read them and ignore them.
