Watch: Tourist slammed for offering dingo water bottle on K’gari

The actions of another tourist on K’gari have been slammed after he was filmed offering his drink bottle to a dingo despite authorities urging people to stay clear of the animals following recent attacks. VIDEO.

A tourist has been filmed holding out a water bottle to a dingo near Waddy Point beach on K’gari in an incident that has frustrated authorities just weeks after one of the animals was destroyed following an attack.

Senior Ranger Linda Behrendorff said the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service had recently received a video showing the man holding out a water bottle to a ‘wongari’ (the Butchulla word for dingo) near Waddy Point beach.

“After the recent incidents on K’gari, it is disappointing that anyone would choose to deliberately interact with a wongari,” Ms Behrendorff said.

“Following those incidents between people and wongari, rangers have increased our patrols and our camping area education.

“And despite our efforts and the publicity surrounding those recent incidents, people are still engaging with wongari on K’gari.

“This man has ignored the safety messaging he would have seen on the barge over to the island, and all the signage on the island advising people to keep their distance.

“People must understand that just one interaction like this can set wongari on the path to becoming habituated, and ignoring this means ignoring the consequences for human safety and for the wongari.

“Deliberate interactions like this are extremely frustrating, because rangers have to manage people and wongari on K’gari.

A woman takes a selfie of herself laying with dingo pups on Fraser Island.

“The focus of rangers should be on managing the wongari on the island, rather than visitors who should be able to manage themselves and Be Dingo-safe! to reduce the risks of negative interactions.

“It is poor people behaviour that causes many of the negative interactions on the island.”

Ms Behrendorff said the man appeared to be a part of a large group of people, and he wasn’t aware he was being filmed.

“He only stopped interacting with the wongari when his mates called out, warning that he was being filmed, but they should’ve been yelling at him to stop his foolish behaviour,” she said.

“When rangers arrived on scene, the group of people were gone, and they were unable to identify him from the video.

“The man is liable to receive a $2474 on the spot fine, and if anyone has any information as to his identity or this incident, they can call 4127 9150.”

It comes after a Brisbane tourist who was jogging on the island last month (despite signs warning people not to run) was savagely mauled.

In the wake of the attack, authorities revealed visitors had been putting themselves at risk, including one woman who was fined after she laid down and took a photo with three dingo pups.