MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Campa on April 26, 2011, 05:08:27 PM
-
This is a sad subject. What a heartbreaking end to what would've been a fantastic family holiday. I wish the little girl a speedy recovery. For whatever reason, be it unsupervised children or an aggressive animal, I dont know. But gee it's a sad story all round, and not good to see the Fraser Is. Dingo back in the media again.
-
That's no good, for either parties.
Aaron
-
Yes it is sad, but we as humans must remember that we are entering their territory, and they are wild animals at the end of the day and we must respect that fact.
there needs to be more done about understanding and spreading a strong message to travellers about the dangers of entering such territory, be it Fraser Island and or Uluru.
And we MUST STOP THROWING SCRAPS and RUBBISH to Dingo's, They are not family pets... they are wild hunting, carnivore K9's... RESPECT THAT FACT ALWAYS, AND KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CHILDREN!
Thats my two cents anyway. :police:
-
a pity the parents weren't watching the kid, the dingos would still be alive otherwise. it's good to hear the child only sustained minor injuries though, would hate for it to have been otherwise.
for those who haven't seen the story on the news.....
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8241177/dingoes-attack-toddler-on-fraser-island
A three-year-old girl was lucky to have escaped with only bite wounds when attacked by two dingoes on Fraser Island, says one of her rescuers.
David Law told AAP the dingoes had been sitting on the beach about 50m from a group of people, including him, waiting for a barge to arrive to take them back to the mainland on Monday afternoon.
He said the toddler walked over a sand dune and into the bushes - possibly to go to the toilet, and the dogs ran in her direction.
"They obviously saw her go into the bushes and were opportunistic and made a bee-line for her," Mr Law said.
"I started running and yelling and waving, but no one could hear me because the wind was blowing in my direction.
"It's breeding season and they can be quite territorial.
"They basically had her on the ground for about five to 10 seconds.
"I got there first with another guy running from the opposite direction who got there as well and chased the dogs away.
"She was quite traumatised."
Fraser Island rangers have captured one of two dingoes involved in the attack.
Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) general manager Terry Harper said on Tuesday park rangers were still searching for the second dingo involved in the attack at Hook Point.
The girl sustained bite wounds to both her legs.
"She was with family members when the attack occurred," Mr Harper said.
"The girl received first aid at the site and then was taken to Gympie Hospital for treatment to her wounds.
"QPWS rangers are now working to locate the animals responsible to be humanely destroyed."
Mr Law, who owns a property on Fraser and regularly visits the popular tourist destination, said the child was with her mother and grandmother.
He said had either of the adults accompanied the three-year-old into the bushes the attack would not have occurred.
"People have to think of these dogs like they are bears, not furry animals," Mr Law said.
"They do not open cans of Chum for dinner, they kill to eat.
"The mother and the grandmother copped an earful from the barge driver and I lectured the grandmother.
"They said `they'd been here for two hours and they haven't had a problem'.".
Fraser Island Dingo Preservation Group spokeswoman Bree Jashin told AAP it was extremely rare for adult dingoes to attack humans.
"It's been a very long time since there has been an attack involving adult dingoes. It's normally the juveniles that can be a problem," Ms Jashin said.
A DERM spokesman told AAP that the second dingo has been caught and has also been put down.
He said witnesses gave descriptions of the dogs' ear tags, which contain up to three colours, to identify the animals involved in the attack.
-
That is terrible. It's not always possible to supervise a 3 year old 100% of the time. I would have thought that at 3 a child would be too big for a dingo to have a go but obviously not.
I play in the dunes a lot with the family (including our dog). If we encounter a dingo I never stray more that 2 feet from our 18month old or I scream at the Mrs to pick him up if she is closer... she always looked at me like i was over reacting... not any more.
Having watched that 'chamberlans' movie recently I really did think a 3 year old would be too big. In that movie the NT police debated if a dingo could carry off a newborn (approx 4 kg). At 3 years old the little tikes are upto 15kg (ish).
They were obviously very brave dingos. Glad they got a bullet.
mike
-
They were obviously very brave dingos. Glad they got a bullet.
mike
Starving more like it Mike.
-
Yeah, quite possibly starving. Or too accustomed to humans. I don't know enough about wild animals to make a fair call.
mike
-
Starving more like it Mike.
yes Ive not been up there as yet but this is what i have heard and read .......
should there be a cull ?.... maybe . did the origanal land owners do this to keep there numbers down ?
????
Craig
-
While I have never been to Fraser Island, I do know one thing. Those Dingo's have to be the skinniest, mangiest looking dingo's in Australia. Every picture you see of a Fraser Dingo, they look like there on their last legs. Is there no food for them there? Is there a Dingo population problem there?
-
The adult dog was weighed at 22kg's, hardly starving. I have no time for them unfortunately due to animal losses to them on the main land
-
Having watched that 'chamberlans' movie recently I really did think a 3 year old would be too big. In that movie the NT police debated if a dingo could carry off a newborn (approx 4 kg).
mike
My mother was a makeup artist on the Meryl Streep movie about Lindy Chamberlain. She told me that the dog handler, a woman by the name of Evanne Harris, had given one of the dogs used in the movie a doll that was weighted the same as a real human baby. The dog carried the doll around the entire day. I don't know how heavy the doll was.
We used to own Basenji's which are the smaller cousins of the Dingo that come from Africa. They are used by the native tribes over there to hunt down antelope in packs. I'd be fairly confident to say that a couple of dingos could quite easily take down a 3 year old. If a domestic dog can do a lot of physical damage to a kid, no reason why a wild one can't either.
As for the toddler, all I could think when I heard this story on the news tonight was "What on earth were the parents doing!?" Seriously, yes your kid can disappear out of your sight quickly. But only if you are not watching them! We see this time and again with kids drowning in pools where parents drop their guard for a matter of moments and the kid is gone. I can't actually believe that any thinking person would let their 3 year old wander off over a sand dune...
I'm still in two minds about the dogs being destroyed.
-
The dingo,s were on Fraser before all the tourists we should just leave them alone.
-
I wonder what the outcome would've been if it was a Goanna or another native animal that attacked the child, Would it've been killed by rangers? or would they've asked, "Where was the parental supervision". And the parents told to be more vigilant in future.
-
While I have never been to Fraser Island, I do know one thing. Those Dingo's have to be the skinniest, mangiest looking dingo's in Australia. Every picture you see of a Fraser Dingo, they look like there on their last legs. Is there no food for them there? Is there a Dingo population problem there?
the dingos have plenty of food to eat, they are far from starving. here's a pic of one i took in the last week when i was on the island, & he was small compared to one we had in our camp the day before.
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/fraser%20island%20fishing%20expo/tn_IMG_1143.jpg)
inbetween digging up fish frames on the beach, raiding food from campsites and we even found over a dozen turtle nests they'd eaten all the eggs out of, not to mention whatever other food they eat on the island, IMHO all the dingos i saw last week were very healthy looking.
there's no population problem there, its an education problem IMHO.
I wonder what the outcome would've been if it was a Goanna or another native animal that attacked the child, Would it've been killed by rangers? or would they've asked, "Where was the parental supervision". And the parents told to be more vigilant in future.
what difference does the animal make? would the parents leave a 3yr old kid alone in croc country? probably not, but they do it where wild dogs are know to roam, does that make sense to you? because it doesn't to me.
-
Dingoes are wild animals and are to be respected.
If you cannot follow the rules never ever go camping in bear country in North America.
-
Most of the dingoes we saw last September were lean.
They're predators, keep a close eye on your kids when you're out n about, whether it's dingoes or any other type of predator.
-
there's no population problem there, its an education problem IMHO.
what difference does the animal make? would the parents leave a 3yr old kid alone in croc country? probably not, but they do it where wild dogs are know to roam, does that make sense to you? because it doesn't to me.
Your right Rumpig, I agree 100%. Thats the point I was trying to make. :cheers:
-
Wonder if it was these two ;D
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/Johnny_Trackabout/P1010841_2.jpg)
-
Wonder if it was these two ;D
Those two look toooooooooooooo content to hurt anything. No wonder they're skinny, plenty of exercise.
-
Has anyone ever seen a fat dingo? They all look lean. It's just the way they are.
mike
-
About time we closed Fraser Island and left the last pure strand of Dingo's to do what Dingo's do, us dumb humans cannot obviously learn to not feed or encourage wild animals in their natural habitat. 100% NOT the Dingo's fault yet they are the ones to suffer and be put down. Ban humans on Fraser I say!!!!!!!
-
The few dingo's I saw on Fraser island didn't look healthy. They had ribs showing etc.
We have one as a pet and it doesn't look like the ones I saw during my visit. When we got her she was malnourished/starving and they reminded me of how ours looked.
At the end of the day I wouldn't let toddlers wander away let alone out of site in an environment where there are predatory animals. I don't think the parents were considering the environment around them as anything more than a holiday environment.
-
After being to Fraser Island myself with two kids, you have to be forever vigilant! There is no way I would have let either of my two go into a sand dune alone! I'm glad someone gave the mother and the grandmother an earful. People need to realise going to places like Fraser is not like going to a Big4 caravan park where the kids run amok and parents sit around having their quiet time!! Which in it's place is ok. When you go to places like Fraser you enter an environment that is unique,beautiful and yes untamed and you have to remember that you enter that area with a certain amount of risk.
As far as banning humans on Fraser what's next no humans in Far north Queensland or Northern Territory because of the crocs? What about shark attacks no humans in the oceans either?
-
My experience with them on Fraser goes back to when i was about 10 or 12 and even back then you had to watch them. They're very quiet, will watch you for ages and all of a sudden they'll lunge and grab without warning. While you're walking towards them or making eye contact they'll back off but as soon as you turn your back or walk from them they're after you. If a child were to run from them i'd bet every time a dingo would give chase, it's instinct they can't help it.
I remember carrying a small bag of rubbish when i was a kid and i watched a dingo in front of me that was hanging around camp back off and disappear and not 10 seconds later i felt the bag being tugged from my hand and he was off with it.
These days when i'm there as soon as we see one hanging around we scare them off straight away as best we can.
cheers
-
You tell me Ranger07, why do we shoot the Dingo's, why do we hunt down and try to kill the Shark that attacks someone and why do we hunt and kill the Croc that attacks someone when we are encroaching on their territory. Just remember, WE are the problem in all of these instances.
Just my opinion.
Peter
-
I agree we are the problem! But I don't see how banning humans is the answer. People sometimes are too complacent and the thinking "it will never happen to me" kicks in. If we want to travel and explore our great country with our children and give them and us memories to cherish we need to do our research, be prepared as much as we can and respect the environment we are going into.
-
My take on this story is ... the parents were in holiday mode ... they should have been educated prior to landing on the island to the dangers their children would be under because of the Dingo's. Even adults ... alone ... are at risk in a pack situation. These animals are wild and it's unfortunate they look like Fido, Rover and Jack our domesticated friends (who are still wild at heart really and still shouldn't be trusted where children are concerned ... ).
People are the problem. We enter the "wild" domain and expect it to be like the city or at home. Domestic dogs never attack or kill or injure ... my arse! If you have children and want them to become adults, you accept your responsibility to do whatever is necessary to keep them safe. My parents had me on a kiddy leash when I was young. A little inconvenient for the parents, but safety assured. I do understand that this could have been much worse, and I do feel for the poor child, however it wasn't the childs responsibility to ensure it's own safety. You can't blame the dogs for doing what comes naturally.
Anyone can land on the island, see the "puppies" and become complacent. As for the condition of the dogs ... perfectly healthy ... although compared to Fido, Rover or Jack they do "appear" to be starving, but this is not the case. I believe people feed them because they haven't been educated and do not understand that the dogs are in fact, healthy.
I don't think culling them till they become almost extinct is the right way to do things. They are being managed by the NPWS to the best of their regulated ability. As with the Crocodile, these Dingo's are protected by law. Education is the key. You want on the island, you get the "lecture" before you go over at the time of placing your booking in person, sign a waiver or something that shows you completely understand the dangers. Then you become responsible for your own safety.
I feel for the child.
I feel for the Dingo.
This isn't a rant or a be all and end all, it's just how I feel about the situation.
Kit_e
-
My take on this story is ... the parents were in holiday mode ... they should have been educated prior to landing on the island to the dangers their children would be under because of the Dingo's. Even adults ... alone ... are at risk in a pack situation. These animals are wild and it's unfortunate they look like Fido, Rover and Jack our domesticated friends (who are still wild at heart really and still shouldn't be trusted where children are concerned ... ).
The education is already there IF people heed it. As you get your permits to get on the island you get information about being vigilant due to the dogs. There are also lots of signs warning of dingoes & dingo attacks. In some of the shops there is new reports & pictures of attacks. Its only people who DONT/WONT listen who dont get educated.
I feel for the dingoes in this case.
I have only been to Fraser once, but will go back. We took our 3 & 5 year olds & camped on the beach. With us there was a total of 7 children from 3 to 10. We had no issues & never once lacked in our monitoring of the kids, EVERYONE'S kids.
I have also been to Cape York, my kids were 2 & 4, & I certainly didnt let my guard down the whole time we were in croc country, that would be neglect on my part to allow my kids near danger unsupervised.
I have seen the pics of where 2 kids & a mother standing at the beach where attacked, the dog was aggressive and IMHO should have been dealt with. That looks from the outside to be a very different attack than someone letting their 3yo walk off alone, & despite what someone said earlier you CAN watch your toddler ALL of the time if you put effort into it & around danger its the only thing that should be on your mind.