Cairns boy, 6, mauled by two wallabies at Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct

A Cairns junior football club has been left traumatised by a vicious wallaby attack on a six-year-old boy after he was “pinned” and “beaten up” by two animals. GRAPHIC WARNING

A CAIRNS junior football club has been left traumatised by a vicious wallaby attack on a six-year-old boy after he was “pinned” and “beaten up” by two animals. The boy was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Centrals Trinity Beach Junior Football Club vice president Daymen Thomas said the event had “shaken” the northern beaches club after under 8s player Koby Pender was targeted and mauled before training.

“A couple of wallabies have come over to one of the kids, they pinned him down and have given him a real good gouge across the top of his head,” Mr Thomas said.

Wallabies graze on grass in parkland at nearby Kewarra Beach. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

“He was covered in blood, they just kept attacking and jumping on top of him.

“He’s been beaten up and shaken up pretty badly.”

A junior coach rushed to his aid and managed to get the wallabies off, only to be attacked himself.

“These things jumped up to him head high,” Mr Thomas said.

“He’s had to run over, get them off and then protect him.

“They aren’t the friendly, furry things people think they are.”

The boy’s father, Scott Pender, said the laceration across the top of his sons head was “pretty severe”.

He was transported to the Cairns Hospital in an ambulance for treatment.

“He was a bit scared and a bit anxious after it all,” he said.

“They scratched him, they kicked him, they jumped on him, you name it they did it.

“Luckily his coach was there.
“We are thankful they scratched his head and he didn’t lose an eye.”

It comes amid calls for a “permanent solution” to the ongoing problem which has plagued the area for years.

Cairns Regional Council has already spent over $170,000 in perimeter fencing trying to keep the wallabies out.

Another fence is currently being erected at the Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct after wallabies were found to be getting through, however the temporary one in place is “basically useless,” according to Mr Thomas.

“We need a permanent solution to this problem that keeps our kids safe and the locals as well,” he said.

Mr Pender said he had heard stories of kids getting “knocked off their bikes” from aggressive wallabies on their way to school at Kewarra Beach.

“We just don’t want any other kids getting hurt, it’s been happening for so long,” he said.

The wallabies, whose population has ballooned to more than 1000 in the area, have become increasingly territorial with a relocation program currently underway.

They’re also causing concerns for residents of nearby housing estates and schools.

Council has pumped $40,000 into an Agile Wallaby Project’s plan, which aims to relocate a further 400 wallabies from the Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct.

“As part of the relocation program, the group aims to sterilise the remaining 200-300 wallabies in the area, which will dramatically reduce the population to a more sustainable level,” a council spokesman said.
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said he was committed to resolving the problem in the best interests of kids, sporting clubs and the wallabies.

“I understand how terrifying it was for Koby, his mum Tegan, and others who witnessed the bloody attack,’’ Mr Crawford said.

“You only have to look at the photos of his injuries to imagine how traumatic it must have been.”

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Originally published as Cairns boy, 6, mauled by two wallabies at Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct