How trial with K’gari dingo Yellow Tag could save island packs, tourists

A problem dingo was on a fast path to destruction after dangerous close calls with K’gari tourists. Two major changes saved her -and potentially, humans who crossed her path – from a terrible fate.

The dingo, known as Yellow Tag, was the subject of petitions and outcry demanding that the collar, which was fitted in July, 2019, be removed.

After a series of dangerous interactions with people on K’gari, a dingo known as Yellow Tag was on the brink of destruction.

Such was the determination of rangers to keep her alive, a GPS collar, the first in a government-funded tracking trial, was placed around her neck and tourists were moved on from areas where she was known to be wandering.

Habituated and fitted with a bulky collar which sparked “cruelty” calls from across the globe, the future did not look bright for the juvenile dingo.

But then Covid hit in 2020 and the unthinkable happened – the island was completely closed to visitors.

With no people around, Yellow Tag’s behaviour completely changed, as evidenced by data from the GPS tracker.

Before the closure of K’gari, the collared dingo was regularly seen around campgrounds, permanent residences and popular beaches.

But following the island’s closure, her behaviour was typical of her species in the wild.

She interacted with other dingoes, visited inland areas and hunted for her own food.

The closure of K’gari may well have saved Yellow Tag’s life and potentially those of humans who were to cross her path but that was only the first challenge.

Linda Behrendorff at Eurong on Fraser Island. Photo Lachie Millard

The dingo known as Yellow Tag has welcomed one litter of pups and is set to have another.

Head ranger Linda Behrendorff said on face value, the tale of Yellow Tag, whose collar was removed in August 2020 before she had her first litter, was a success story.

Ms Behrendorff said that juvenile dingoes often exhibited the most concerning behaviours, such as dominance testing, in their early years.

But being able to manage a problem dingo past the age of two was a key part protecting both the animal and tourists.

“There’s a theory that I’ve been working on for a fair while now, I just haven’t had a chance to pull stuff together and publish it,” Ms Behrendorff said.

“The theory is, if you can get them past those two years of age there’s a chance, they still remain habituated but that assertive behaviour seems to calm down.”

The dingo known as Yellow Tag.

As Yellow Tag’s story shows, however, the successful management of one animal does not mean there won’t be issues down the line.

As a habituated dingo, Yellow Tag passed on those traits to her first litter of pups.

Now juveniles themselves, one of those pups, a male dingo with a pink tag, was destroyed this year after a series on incidents, including one in which he nipped a sunbathing French tourist on the backside.

Yellow Tag is now days away from welcoming another litter, or it may have already arrived, Ms Behrendorff said.

The price of keeping the dingo alive was ensuring a management plan was in place for her offspring, she said.

‘This ain’t over’: Managing the ‘wongari’ on K’gari

Known as wongari by the Butchulla people, there are usually between 100 to 200 dingoes on the island, with the population fluctuating because of a variety of factors.

That could include breeding season, natural attrition, vehicle strikes or fighting between the dingoes themselves, which is the number one cause of dingo death on the island.

Two dingoes have been euthanised on the island this year, including one last month after an attack on a woman who was jogging at Orchid Beach.

Parts of the island have been fenced off and grids have been installed to provide separation between tourists and dingoes.

The dingo, known as Yellow Tag, was the subject of petitions and outcry demanding that the collar, which was fitted in July, 2019, be removed.

Concerning interactions occur, often when children are left unattended, even for a brief time, or when tourists run or jog outside fenced areas (despite warning signs on the island not to do so), stimulating a dingo’s chasing instincts.

When Yellow Tag was fitted with the GPS collar that would track her movements, there was worldwide outcry and petitions attracted tens of thousands of signatures.

At the time, Ms Behrendorff said the dingo was fitted with the tracking collar by Queensland Parks to help manage her behaviour and people’s behaviour around her.

“We were able to track her movements, and that allowed us to temporarily close camping areas to assist in monitoring the behaviour of people and the wongari,” she said.

“It was clear to rangers that she had been fed, because she had lost her natural wariness of people and would approach camping areas and people for food around Eli Creek.

The dingo nicknamed Yellow Tag.

Yellow Tag was wearing a GPS tracking collar at one point.

“Her transformation from a fed juvenile to a cautious adult shows that tracking and camera collars are an important management and conservation tool.”

Being able to close parts of the island or move people on was a vital part of stopping the interactions that almost certainly would have ended Yellow Tag’s life.

But while Yellow Tag made it through those volatile early years, that was not the end of the story, Ms Behrendorff told the Chronicle this week.

“You’ve got to remember is that you’ve still got that animal out there and they are teaching the next generation so when she has young, and that’s something I always see, even in the early days where a particular family pack that have all these habituated young, some of them get hit by cars, and you end up with one remaining female, she would have young and they will have that cycle again.

“She’s pretty much done that.”

The dingo known as Yellow Tag feasting on a grouper on Fraser Island.

Yellow Tag had a “massive rap sheet,” Ms Behrendorff said, and Covid really was her saviour.

Last year Yellow Tag had her first litter at Eli Creek and is now pregnant again.

Now Ms Behrendorff is working with the Butchulla people to have a holistic management approach for the pups that will follow in their mother’s footsteps.

“I’m already working with the Butchulla to say, this ain’t over.

“Just because you’ve saved that animal, you’ve particularly caused yourself another generation of management.”

When Yellow Tag’s offspring bit the French tourist, he was given an aversion collar.

But it wouldn’t not be enough to prevent his concerning interactions with tourists.

The decision to euthanise the dingo followed a series of “serious incidents” which included the biting of a 7-year-old boy on June 1, and the biting of a 42-year-old woman on June 4.

It was not a decision made lightly; nor was the decision to euthanise the second dingo last month.

The dingo known as Yellow Tag wearing its tracking device on Fraser Island.

But the balancing act between trying to manage a dingo’s behaviour and the safety of tourists on the island was constant, Ms Behrendorff said.

Getting them past the two year mark was the goal, concentrating on individual dingoes, she said.

That was complicated by the desire of so many tourists to have an interaction with the dingoes.

This year, two women have been fined after posting to social media, showing their concerning interactions with the animals.

One woman even showed herself laying down with three dingo pups, an act that could have caused her serious injury if the mother had returned.

Ms Behrendorff said those looking for an interaction should go do it at a sanctuary.

“K’gari is a place to see them in the wild and go ‘wow what a privilege’.”