Toddler undergoes surgery after surprise attack

The mother of a two-year-old girl injured in an unexpected attack is urging council to put up warning signs to alert other parents.

The mother of a two-year-old girl, who was injured in an unexpected bird attack earlier this week, is urging the council to erect signage warning parents about the potential hazard of eating outside at their local cafe.

The incident occurred around midday at a popular beach side park in Mosman, Sydney, when Paris and her mum Jessica Bregenhoj. The pair were having lunch after the toddler’s ballet lesson.

“We were shocked. She was just sitting right in front of me and then this Kookaburra came in between me and her and I had just given Paris some pastry when it ripped it right out of her mouth,” Ms Bregenhoj said.

The surprise attack from the Kookaburra had “cut a hole into her lip” about 2-3 mm in diameter and had punctured right through to her top teeth.

“We washed it out with saline, and put the bandaid on”, Paris Bregenhoj sitting with her father Mike Bregenhoj at the Royal North Shore hospital. Picture: Supplied.

The pair had been sitting on the grass at Georges Heights after purchasing some pastries from an adjacent cafe which offers its diners the option to take a picnic blanket out onto the grass.

“The cafe was full, so we thought, how nice it’s a sunny day, we’ll take a blanket over to the park and sit in the sun,” Ms Bregenhoj said.

“Paris loves being outside, so we won’t let this stop us, but I just want people to be aware.”

A passer-by noticed the commotion and assisted the family by helping sanitise the toddler’s wound with saline solution before they rushed off to the Royal North Shore hospital.

Ms Bregenhoj was told by doctors that Paris would need stitches.

“The doctors were really good, but the problem was they didn’t realise that the cut had gone all the way through, so they were like, ‘oh, we’ll just put stitches on the top’ and I really had to push to have her seen by the plastic surgeon team,” she said.

Paris colouring in and playing with her family after recovering from surgery on her lip. Picture: Supplied.

The Bregenhoj family were sent home that evening and instructed to return the next morning to the hospital to see the specialty team.

“The plastic surgeon team said ‘there’s a hole all the way through’, so, they were like it’s lucky that we got seen by them and not just the children’s doctors,” Ms Bregenhoj said.

“Seeing your baby in pain, it’s stressful.

“She had to see an anaesthetist and be put under, that was the most stressful thing for me.

“I didn’t like that process, that made me cry because she understood what was going on, so I said to her when we were going in, “we’re gonna do a little prayer now and we prayed that everything was gonna be safe, and that sort of helped a little bit”.

While the mother-of-two expressed relief that her eldest daughter wasn’t “seriously” hurt and “it could have been worse”, she hopes the incident can serve as a reminder for others to be cautious and is urging the council to put up warning signs in the Georges Heights area.

“If there was signs that would have really helped us, I would have not brought the food out,” she said.

Harbour Trust, which manages Georges Heights, said it was made aware of the incident and intends to help improve awareness around food and beverage areas.

“The Harbour Trust were made aware of a recent swooping bird incident at Georges Heights, Mosman. The Harbour Trust intend to erect a warning sign around the food and beverage area to help educate the community about the local native birds,” the statement read.

Two-year-old Paris Bregenhoj with her 8 month old sister Gigi and dad Mike Bregenhoj. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Bregenhoj also shared her experience on a local Mosman community group, to warn other parents.

The post quickly grew in popularity as many members shared similar, recent experiences in the same area.

“Same thing happened to our family today dining at Frenchies. Kookaburra had no qualms about swooping into our group and stealing a morsel from our 3 year old. Quite a shock,” one person commented.

“We had the same experience on Sunday. Kookaburra sliced my 1 year old’s finger as he was putting food in his mouth,” another person wrote.

“That one bit me on the lip too! I had two stitches. But I still love the kookaburras, people just mustn’t feed them. Don’t eat food when they are close by,” a third person wrote.

“People feed the birds and they don’t understand that human food is not for them and just go for it every time they see it. It’s so cruel to feed wildlife”.

A spokesperson from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said the service is committed to ensuring public enjoyment of the outdoors and it is “unfortunate when someone is attacked by a native animal”.

“Native birds, including Kookaburras, although not generally a risk to humans, can change behaviour when accustomed to being fed by people, leading to potential harm”.

NPWS said feeding native birds is discouraged due to potential negative impacts, however, encourages the public to report any aggressive bird interactions to the land manager or business owners.

“When dining outdoors, stay calm if swooped, protect yourself and leave the area, avoid feeding or provoking the birds, dismount from bicycles or horses, avoid the area after being swooped, and warn others with signage,” spokesperson for NPWS said.

Mosman Council were contacted for comment who provided the following statement: “Georges Heights is managed by the Harbour Trust and matters regarding birds would be dealt with by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service”.