Tourists on alert as dingoes attack woman on Australia’s K’gari island

A chilling episode unfolded on Australia‘s island of K’gari, as a 24 year old woman experienced the fear and trauma of being chased and attacked by a pack of dingoes. K’gari is the world’s largest sand island, located in the state of Queensland.

The unfortunate incident yesterday prompted the Australian authorities to issue warnings to tourists on the island regarding their safety while venturing outside their accommodation.

This event marks the latest encounter between humans and dingoes on K’gari, an island known as a national park and a place registered as a World Heritage Site. It’s home to the Australian wild dogs, or dingoes, referred to as Woggaries by the Butchulla people. Following the end of Covid-19 restrictions, it was noted that the dingoes began to be less afraid around humans, AP reported.

Linda Behrendorff, a wildlife ranger, noted that the dingoes were chasing the female victim towards the beach, a technique used by the dingoes when hunting large prey.

Behrendorff said that two passersby rescued the woman. According to the Queensland Ambulance Service, the woman sustained multiple injuries, including bites on her limbs and torso. She was transported by helicopter to Hervey Bay Hospital in Queensland in a stable condition.

The park authorities are currently contemplating whether to kill the pack of dingoes or not, with some dingoes currently observed due to their aggressive behaviour towards humans.

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It was reported that one dingo was killed in June, the first to be killed on K’gari since 2019 after it had attacked a seven year old boy and a 42 year old male French tourist.

In light of these events, the authorities have advised tourists visiting K’gari to exercise extreme caution around dingoes. These precautions include staying within fenced areas, closely supervising children, carrying a stick while out, and refraining from feeding them, as most dingoes tend to approach humans for food.