Young boy attacked by dingo on Fraser Island

A paramedic has offered crucial advice on what to do if you encounter a dingo after a young boy was attacked on Fraser Island.

A child has been treated for minor injuries after being attacked by a dingo on Fraser Island in Queensland.

The primary school-aged boy encountered the dingo on Thursday morning while out walking along Orchid Beach with his father.

“(They) walked past a small mob of dingoes that was relaxing on the sand, and one of the juveniles had then got up and started walking towards the child,” a Queensland paramedic who attended the scene said.

“As the child turned around he had stumbled in the sands and fell over.”

The dingo charged and bit the boy in both legs before the dad scared the animal off.

#FraserIsland - Paramedics are responding to Orchid Beach for a male child who has reportedly sustained four minor puncture wounds from a dingo bite around 9.30am.

— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) February 4, 2021

The bites to the left calf and inner right knee were not deep enough to puncture the skin, but left abrasions that had been treated by an off-duty nurse by the time paramedics arrived.

The call came around 9.30am, and it took paramedics a few hours to get to the area.

“We have a station on the island, but he’s in an isolated spot, so it takes time to get there,” an ambulance spokesman said.

#BREAKINGNEWS Rangers are at Orchid Beach, K'gari (Fraser Island) where two wongaris were involved in an incident resulting in significant bite wounds to a visitor. First responders are giving first aid treatment to the patient. No further details are available at this time.

— Queensland Environment (@QldEnvironment) February 4, 2021

Both father and son are NSW residents, the Ambulance Service said.

The Queensland Department of Environment previously said two dingoes were involved in the incident.

“Two wongaris (dingoes) were involved in an incident resulting in significant bite wounds to a visitor,” the department wrote in a statement.

It later clarified the injuries were minor. It said its rangers were investigating the incident.

Asked what to do if one encounters a dingo, the paramedic who attended the scene said: “Always make sure your children are within one or two arms’ length at all times.”

“Never run from a dingo (...) Always face it, and carry a stick.”