Dingo attacks five-year-old boy at Queensland campsite

A young boy has been bitten multiple times by a dingo at a campsite on K’gari. Photo / 123rf

A young boy has been bitten multiple times by a dingo at a campsite on K’gari.

The five-year-old was at Ocean Lake campground on the island - formerly known as Fraser Island - in Queensland, when he suffered injuries to his head, arm, and back in the attack.

“Paramedics including Rescue Helicopter have transported one child patient in a stable condition to Hervey Bay Hospital after a reported animal attack at 4.08pm,” Queensland Ambulance said in a tweet on Sunday around 8pm.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the boy has multiple bites to his arms and around the back of his legs.

“They don’t appear to be overly serious, but they haven’t provided a full report at this stage,” she said, according to the Brisbane Times.

#FraserIsland - Paramedics including Rescue Helicopter have transported one child patient in a stable condition to Hervey Bay Hospital after a reported animal attack at 4:08pm. No further details are available.

— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) December 18, 2022

The boy’s parents reported the incident to ambulance crews with the spokesperson saying she presumes the pair saw the dingo bite their son — however, she was unsure of the details of the incident.

It comes after a toddler suffered deep puncture wounds inflicted by a dingo last year.

The two-year-old sustained significant injuries to his legs, arms, neck, shoulder and head.

Neighbours at Orchid Beach on the island’s northeastern coast raised the alarm at the time after hearing a commotion.

The two-year-old had wandered outside while his family was asleep and was approached by a dingo.

The dingo bit the boy on many parts of his body including the back of his head.

While dingoes are a curious native predator on the island, bites are not common.

One person, however, has died from a dingo attack.

On April 20, 2001, nine-year-old Clinton Gage was attacked and killed by two dingoes near Waddy Point on K’gari.

The boy’s death prompted a dingo cull — with around 200 dingoes on K’gari currently — and the launch of a dingo management strategy in 2013.