Dingo’s ...... don’t be afraid be weary !!!!

[yogi]

Dingo safety

Educate your self and family about dingo safety especially the kids. Dingos are wild animals and should never be fed or interferer with in any way. All food including things like soap, tooth paste, bait, rubbish and scraps should be stored securely at all times. Never walk alone especially if your a child or slight of build. If confronted by a dingo do not run but fold your arms and back away slowly calling for help, if attacked defend your self with vigour. If you are worried but still want to do the trip you can always camp at Dundaburra as it if fully fenced.

Dingo safety video
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/media/parks_and_forests/dingo_csa.wmv

General Dingo information
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/fraser/fraser-island-dingoes.html

Dingo management information
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/fraser/dingo-management.html


DERM WARNING

Fraser Island's dingoes are wild and unpredictable. They are possibly one of the purest populations of dingo in Australia and are protected by law. You cannot feed dingoes or any wildlife on Fraser Island. Rangers do check and you will be fined. Plan carefully to be dingo-safe. Follow the guidelines given in brochures and signs.

Bring strong lockable containers to lock up food and rubbish from animals. Do not hang rubbish, food, fish, bait or burley from cars, trees or tents.

Be dingo-safe at the rubbish bins
Never go alone or at night.
Leave no rubbish lying around—bin everything!
If a bin is full, please use another.

Important: report dingo encounters

Please report any negative or close encounter with dingoes to the nearest ranger as soon as you can. Alternatively, phone (07) 5486 9966 or email dingo.ranger@derm.qld.gov.au

Be dingo-safe. Always be close (within 5 metres) to your children. Keep food and waste locked in your vehicle at night.

All wildlife is protected. Approach dingoes, resting shorebirds and all other wildlife slowly, and carefully drive around them.

yogi

[krisandkev]

Well said.
The dingos on Fraser have lost their instinct to be afraid of humans. Thanks to the stupid people, visitors and certain locals, who have feed them.  You can see how they, the dingos, act differently depending on what part of the island you find them.  Generally the more populated the area with visitors, the more game the dingos are.  Last time we were at Lake Mackenzie there was a dingo inside the toilets.  Guess what, some pee brain had left a half full packet of chips in one of the cubicles.  That is why he was there.  Not to intentionally attack a child.  But the dingo did make us feel uneasy and we would not allow any child to go to that area alone. Mind you we would not do that at any public toilet.  There are just as scary low life in any town/city that will prey on children.
There is no doubt that a dingo can bring down a large animal and as you have rightly stated, be aware.  They are a wild animal and should be treated as such.  But, maybe being a bit scared for you children is a good idea. It is very easy to get complacent on Fraser as it is such a beautiful place.     kevin



P.S. Why would you take a packet of chips into a toilet anyway?   

[yogi]

krisandkev .... exactly .... it's unfortunate that the people who think they are helping the dingos by associating food with people are the ones responsible for those dingos being shot or worst still attacking a child. Very true about dingo behaving differently in different location on Fraser ... we usually camp up at Sandy Cape and the dingos there are very weary of humans .... harder to spot but the kind of dingo likely to not get shot by rangers.

yogi

[hairymick]

Just my humble opinion but for what it is worth,

People have been visiting Fraser Island for many years. As far as I am aware, the dingoes were never a serious problen until DERM in its infinate wisdom, removed the brumbies.

The information that I have seen is that the life span of a brumby on Fraser Island was relatively short because of the poor fodder there. As a result of this, there was a good supply of sick and dying or dead horsed on which the dingoes could feed.

Now the dingoes are starving, and as natural scavengers, of course they are drawn to the most readily available source or food.

I think DERM have a lot to answer for, not only for the way they mis-manage Fraser Island.

[yogi]

I don't think dangours dingos should be shot but removed and used for breeding programs in zoos ect. As for available food your right if you decrease the available food for a population then they either find alternatives or die

yogi

[Big Nath]

Just my humble opinion but for what it is worth,

People have been visiting Fraser Island for many years. As far as I am aware, the dingoes were never a serious problen until DERM in its infinate wisdom, removed the brumbies.

The information that I have seen is that the life span of a brumby on Fraser Island was relatively short because of the poor fodder there. As a result of this, there was a good supply of sick and dying or dead horsed on which the dingoes could feed.

Now the dingoes are starving, and as natural scavengers, of course they are drawn to the most readily available source or food.

I think DERM have a lot to answer for, not only for the way they mis-manage Fraser Island.

Thats exactly what we were told on our recent trip to fraiser too. we are also told "never turn your back on a dingo"

and with having 3 kids under 4 it made the trip fun. in the space of 5 minutes from lake mackenzies water to the car park we saw 2 piss poor looking dingos.

Awesome spot, well worth the dingo threat.

Cheers!

[Kit_e_kat9]

What a beautiful photo Kevin.  Exactly how they are meant to look to by the way.  Scrawny & skinny.

Domestic dogs are rather fat in comparison, and I suppose this is why people try to feed them.  Thinking that the Dingo is too skinny and therefore starving ... hardly the case at all.

Dogs in the wild do 2 things (native or otherwise).  Eat and survive or Perish.  If it's alive, then it's doing okay.  To the Dingo, if you look like food, smell like food and can be taken like food ... then you must be food. 

If you are going to Fraser (or anywhere in Australia with a Dingo population) please, please, please, be responsible parents and Tell Your Children Why They Shouldn't Pat The Puppies On Fraser (or any strange dog for that matter!  Otherwise ... how are they to know the dangers?

Kit_e

[Johnny Trackabout]

Watch them, very unpredictable ;o)

Cheers
JT

[Rumpig]

Now the dingoes are starving, and as natural scavengers, of course they are drawn to the most readily available source or food.

the dingo's are starving are they...says who?
the dingo's i saw last year on the island were looking the healthiest i have seen in quite some time, one even almost looked fat. drive down the beach at night and look at the holes they dig to find the fish frames, you'll be amazed at how far down they dig to find the food. yes they are cunning and come into camps to find food lazy people have left out, but they are opportunistic animals, so what do people expect.
good supervision by the kids parents is all that is required for a safe and fun time on the island, it's what we have done with ours kids when camping on the beach there, and we've never had any issues with the dingo's.

[McGirr]

Gee the crocs at the Cape are not that bad !! They just bite harder 

Mark

[GeoffA]

Gee the crocs at the Cape are not that bad !! They just bite harder 

Mark

......long-nosed, long-tailed, short-legged terriers..............

[jaycamrie]

Just my humble opinion but for what it is worth,

People have been visiting Fraser Island for many years. As far as I am aware, the dingoes were never a serious problen until DERM in its infinate wisdom, removed the brumbies.

The information that I have seen is that the life span of a brumby on Fraser Island was relatively short because of the poor fodder there. As a result of this, there was a good supply of sick and dying or dead horsed on which the dingoes could feed.

Now the dingoes are starving, and as natural scavengers, of course they are drawn to the most readily available source or food.

I think DERM have a lot to answer for, not only for the way they mis-manage Fraser Island.

Not trying to be  funny or start a war but weren,t the DINGOES supposed to be there before the BRUMBIES

[stepheng]

All good advice..on a trip to Fraser my wife and I were a bit nervous about Dingo's and spoke to our children about it ...unfortunantly I think we scared the Shit out of them but as my daughter in particular has a love of animals we were concerned she may get too close. When we were at Devils Marbles, we told them to keep away from a Dingo but it wasnt until we looked at the camera we realised they were very close to it (they borrowed a camera to take pictures).

On Fraser I think we saw a couple of dingoes but kept our distance. I think the most worrisome time was when we were at the Champaigne Pools and my youngest (3) ran ahead. As there was a few people around I wasnt that concerned but when I got around the corner there was a couple of dingoes that looked like they were getting ready to round him up. Be alert but not afraid.

My son cried when he read the memorial to the young 10 year old who was killed there 10 years ago, it would have been horrendous for his parents...I would recomend if staying at Frasier and you have young kids to go for the fenced in areas, as it just makes it easier as they can wonder off and you dont get too worried about it.

But dont let them scare you off as it is a great place

[earle]

Rubbish in toilets is a big problem on Fraser Island. A few years ago we did the great walk on Fraser and were astonished to see the amount of rubbish. The bins have been removed in some of the day use areas so as to not attract dingos, so now some lazy, thoughtless visitors think its fine to chuck there rubbish anywhere. As we were hiking for 8 days we carried our rubbish with us and disposed of it when we found bins, in one case the bin was in the front of a bus where the front door had been left open. Some visitors obviously can't be bothered taking there rubbish away with them. Rant over.

[Beachman]

I've been fishing at Fraser for 20 years and for years we would always sleep under a tarp and mattress on the sand. Seeing we stunk of fish/bait as was very common to be woken up during the night by a dingo sniffing us. With all these trips I never felt concerned as just shooed them and way it went for an hour or so.

My last trip was with my wife and it was around breeding season. This was the first time I've ever been concerned as the dingos near camp were aggressive and at night I could hear 3 of them circling our camp stalking us.

We now have kids, I put off returning until they got bigger.  But is saying that we are thinking of retuning later this year with another couple of families. This way it gives more adult eyes to keep an eye on the kids.

[krisandkev]

It is an interesting argument about the removal of the brumbies and one most true locals will agree with.   Also I recall the argument that one of the reasons they were removed was that the brumbies were not native. However that argument was not applied to the dingos as they are not native to the island? Mind you, I love seeing them there.  Kevin

[Rumpig]

When we were at Devils Marbles, we told them to keep away from a Dingo but it wasnt until we looked at the camera we realised they were very close to it (they borrowed a camera to take pictures).

the dingo i saw at Devils Marbles last year was the most placid thing you'd ever meet (still wouldn't trust it around the kids though). wasn't the prettiest of dogs either, certainly not in as good of condition as the ones i'm used to seeing on Fraser Island.

[MDS69]

We were on Fraser in April 2011 and thought the dingoes looked healthy. We speculated why and came up with a theory that the rangers might have been feeding them away from the public to perhaps reduce the need for the dingoes to approach the  public for food. Again this was our speculation.

[Kit_e_kat9]

Hi

Just found this short video.  Interesting stuff about tags and collars (for National Parks) and some beautiful photos of the Dingo on Fraser!  Check it out ...  http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/video-fraser-island-dingoes.htm

There are also some links further down ... I'm enjoying them all.  Shows just how smart they really are and how well they can problem solve.

Kit_e

[Beachman]

Shows just how smart they really are and how well they can problem solve.

Kit_e

I remember a fishing trip to Fraser about 20 years ago and one of the guys had his thermos of soup opened by a Dingo. At the time no one believed us, but the thermos lid was off and had teeth marks on it, so they are smart animals.

Another tip is never keep your car keys/wallet in a bag which also contains food. One night a Dingo took the whole bag and it was never found again. 

[RachGlenEm]

I agree don't be afraid but be aware... especially with little ones around the camp.
We were on Fraser last October and had a great time. The week we were there we only seen the one dingo along the beach around the Pinnacles.
Don't be afraid of these animals but don't encourage them and just keep in mind that they are still a wild dog!!!

[STUMPSHHH]

Hi went to Fraser last year the Dingos are not afraid of us humans and always looking for a easy feed cos some morons feed them. I took a bait caster (slingshot) and a couple of well placed aims and the dingoes didnt come around. They will get into any thing even your toilet/shower bag and eat your tooth paste. Be aware and dont let little kids out of your sight

[Black Diamond]

Up at the high country a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of the night a couple of packs starting howling. They would stop for about 5 mins then start again. Every Time was closer. The ended up going through our camp as we could hear commotion around us. The missus and sister inlaw were packing darkies
It didn't really faze me, if anything I thought it was beautiful hearing them in their environment

[GGV8Cruza]

Up at the high country a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of the night a couple of packs starting howling. They would stop for about 5 mins then start again. Every Time was closer. The ended up going through our camp as we could hear commotion around us. The missus and sister inlaw were packing darkies
It didn't really faze me, if anything I thought it was beautiful hearing them in their environment

They needed the thetford Yowie to chase them away

GG

[edz]

We camp Fraser most every year, since the kids were little and havent yet had a problem with dingo's. We get these little safety air horns from BCF for each of the kids to carry if they might be a little way down the beach from us .. they are loud and " DO " scare the dingo's away, have used them a few times just to encourage an inquisitive dingo to move on .$14 well spent and last for years . fairly small, fits in the palm of your hand .