Rangers on K’gari are monitoring a male dingo responsible for biting a four-year-old girl on the weekend.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) was advised of the incident around 11:15am on Saturday, which occurred near NgKala Rocks on the eastern side of the island.
Rangers were told a large group was fishing with eight children and dingoes were loitering nearby.
The dingo approached the girl and grabbed her around the chest area, causing lacerations, bruising and a puncture wound.
A nearby doctor examined the child and rangers advised the family to meet with paramedics from the Queensland Ambulance Service as a precaution.
The girl was flown from the island and taken to hospital as a precaution due to the abdominal area affected by the bite.
Rangers are investigating the incident and will continue patrols in the NgKala Rocks area and provide Be dingo-safe! messaging to fishers and campers.
Fishers are reminded that dingoes should never be allowed to linger nearby. Whenever approached by dingoes, fishers should move them on, especially from around children.
Visitors and residents on K’gari are reminded to remain vigilant at all times by keeping children at arm’s length, never walking alone and carrying a stick at all times.
Negative dingo encounters should immediately be reported to a QPWS ranger by calling 07 4127 9150.
Meanwhile, rangers have captured and sedated another dingo on K’gari to remove a large set of gang hooks from its mouth and foot.
The gang hooks had become deeply embedded in the dingo’s jaw, and as she tried to use her right foot to remove them, the third hook snagged her leg.
The adult dingo’s right paw was then hooked beside her jaw.
She was observed in distress around the Orchid Beach region and multiple reports from visitors to K’gari were received on Sunday.
Ranger Dan Novak said the hook injury incident was one of the worst he had seen on the island.
“The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service would like to thank everyone who reported the incident to us,” Mr Novak said.
“Initial reports suggested the three hooks were stuck in her mouth and she was trailing a length of fishing line.
“She could not walk properly, could not hunt nor eat, and was obviously in distress. Without intervention, the injuries had the potential to be fatal.
“To make matters worse, the dingo is feeding pups, so rangers had to act swiftly to remove the hooks and she was sedated, the hooks were gently removed, and the wounds sterilised.
“Less than 24 hours after receiving the initial report, the dingo had been captured, treated and ran free and went back to her den.”
Winter is considered tailor season on K’gari. Since July 1, more than 11,500 people stayed at least one night in a camping area and more than 4,700 vehicle access permits have been issued to visitors.
Ranger Novak said rangers have already removed hooks and fishing line from several dingoes around the Orchid Beach area due to the influx of fishers.
“We believe most incidents have involved fishing gear that has been taken back to camp and the fisher has not removed the bait from the hooks,” he said.
“Every fisher who visits K’gari has to remove all bait from their hooks after their fishing session is over and preferably cover the exposed hooks with a protector.
“Dingoes are extremely opportunistic, and they will scavenge around camping areas, which is why it is so important to remove bait from all hooks.
“The next dingo may not be so lucky, especially if it swallows a hook, so we need all fishers to follow K’gari’s five fishing basic fishing rules.
“Some incidents have involved dingoes grabbing a fisher’s catch as they reel it in, so all fishers need to follow the Be dingo-safe! rules and move dingoes on,” Ranger Novak said.
