Authorities have taken the step of closing some beachfront camping areas on K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, following a spate of serious dingo attacks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Three camping zones on the eastern side of the island will be off-limits from August 17 until further notice, with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science indicating the closure will remain for the September school holidays.
Visitors have also been asked to avoid sunbaking lying down and preparing or consuming food in the Eli Creek and lakeshores areas.
![Rangers warn feeding dingoes can cause habituation and lead to dangerous interactions. Picture supplied by Department of Environment and Science Rangers warn feeding dingoes can cause habituation and lead to dangerous interactions. Picture supplied by Department of Environment and Science](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/206436302/1b179643-acbd-47fe-8b3f-cc3881655f95.jpg/r0_376_4032_2643_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It comes after a woman was bitten on the thigh by a dingo - known as wongari by Traditional Owners - on August 10 in the latest of a string of incidents.
According to rangers, two dingoes approached and circled a group of adults at Eli Creek before one lunged and mouthed one of them on the thigh.
A member of the group threw a stick at the dingo and scared it off but a short time later it approached a different woman nearby.
When she turned and saw the dingo the woman fell and was bitten on the thigh, rangers said.
The incident comes four weeks after a dingo was euthanised for its involvement in the attack of a 24-year-old Brisbane woman who was hospitalised with bite wounds and cuts to her legs and arms.
IN OTHER NEWS:
That animal was also responsible for an earlier attack of a six-year-old girl who suffered puncture wounds to her head after she was bitten.
Visitors to K'gari will have access to other beachfront camping sites, as well as fenced camping areas during the temporary closure.
Rangers dismayed by deliberate interactions with dingoes
The same day a woman was bitten on the thigh by a dingo, rangers received a video of a man holding out a water bottle to a dingo on the island.
Senior ranger Linda Behrendorff said it was disappointing anyone would choose to deliberately interact with a dingo after the recent incidents.
![A man is filmed interacting with a dingo at K'gari. Picture supplied by Queensland Department of Environment and Science A man is filmed interacting with a dingo at K'gari. Picture supplied by Queensland Department of Environment and Science](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/206436302/b91d063e-db94-4c2e-8389-d3b5d5936d96.png/r67_0_1134_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"People must understand that just one interaction like this can set wongari on the path to becoming habituated," she said.
"This man has ignored the safety messaging he would have seen on the barge over to the island and all the signage on the island advising people to keep their distance."
Ms Behrendorff said it was poor behaviour from people that was causing many of the incidents on the island.
Anyone who interacts with dingoes on K'gari faces a more than $2000 on the spot fine.
In July two women were fined for posting selfies with dingoes taken on the island.
Rangers have pushed "dingo-safe" messaging on K'gari including to keep children within arm's reach, walk in groups and carry a stick, and not to run or jog on the island.
Updates on the closure of campsites will be provided at parks.des.qld.gov.au