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Dingo on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island)
Photo: Fraser Island Dingo Preservation / dpa
On the Australian sandy island of K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), a young woman has been attacked and seriously injured by a pack of dingoes. The victim was jogging when the four animals attacked, the ABC broadcaster reported on Monday, citing the emergency services.
She then ran into the sea, but was chased by two dingoes. The woman suffered bite wounds to the torso and legs, it said. She was flown by helicopter to Hervey Bay on the mainland.
Dingoes are domestic dogs that became feral thousands of years ago and live mainly in Australia. The world's largest sand island, K'gari, off the coast of Queensland, is famous for its dingo population. To the delight of the indigenous people, the island has been back to its original name since June. K'gari (pronounced: garrie) means "paradise" in the language of the Butchulla people.
Series of biting attacks on K'gari
Recently, dingo attacks on humans had become more frequent. In June, a ten-year-old boy was bitten by one of the predators and dragged under water. The boy was rescued by his twelve-year-old sister. Previously, a French tourist had been bitten in the buttocks by a dingo while sunbathing. In April, one of the animals had bitten a six-year-old girl playing in shallow water in the head.
According to Australia's Department of the Environment, there have been a total of 2018 attacks since 33. The authorities in Queensland estimate that between 25 and 30 packs of dingoes live on the island, each with between three and twelve members. The animals that do not bark but howl like wolves are protected on K'gari.
There are also attacks by dingoes in other parts of the country – most recently in Western Australia. There, one of the wild dogs had attacked a two-year-old child at the Dales Campground in Karijini National Park and seriously injured him, but not life-threatening. The mother then scared away the aggressive animal, as the Guardian wrote.
jok/dpa