Video emerges of K’gari dingo interaction with fisherman and catch

Astonishing footage has emerged of a fisherman on K’gari (Fraser Island) staring down a dingo as it attempts to make off with his beach fishing catch. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

Video has emerged of a bronzed beach fisherman staring down a dingo at K’gari (Fraser Island) as it makes a move for his catch.

The footage captured last week shows the man carrying a large fish reeled in from the surf as a cheeky dingo shows interest in his haul on Seventy Five Mile Beach near Eli Creek on Thursday, November 9.

The man tries to keep his distance from the dingo, throwing sand several times to try and keep it at bay, before walking away with the fresh fish.

The interaction earnt the ire of Save the Fraser Island Dingoes’ Karin Kilpatrick who said there was a “people problem more than an animal problem” on the island, condemning the approach taken.

There is no suggestion the man in the video broke the law.

It comes as several, separate, human-dingo interactions involving different individuals at Eli Creek were reported last week to the Sunshine Coast Daily.

Eli Creek is an idyllic freshwater stream which is a popular picnic and swimming spot on the island.

A dingo (wongari) on Fraser Island.

Witnesses reported a dingo was seen running off with a bag at Eli Creek on Wednesday, November 8, before a Vortex toy was reportedly thrown at it, causing it to drop the bag.

On that same day a dingo was also seen running away with a garbage bag with a loaf of bread inside of it.

The incidents come despite the Department of Environment and Science advising visitors to K’gari not to run in the presence of a dingo, as it could trigger a negative interaction, as well as to secure all food, rubbish, fish, and bait.

A Department spokesman urged people visiting K’gari to behave in a safe manner around dingoes.

“It is illegal to disturb or feed wongari (dingo), which includes attracting them with food or food waste, and on-the-spot penalties apply,” the spokesman said.

A dingo (wongari) at Waddy Point on Fraser Island.

“Do not leave food or food scraps lying around. What may have been an easy steal from your unattended food, can lead to dingoes harassing other people for food—sometimes aggressively.

“It is recommended that you do not take food to lakes, because a picnic on the shore of a lake puts food at ‘dingo level’.”

In June, the Department of Environment and Science issued an alert advising of ‘threatening dingo activity’ at Eli Creek, Waddy Point, and Wathumba.

The alert mentions that ‘instances of threatening dingo behaviour’ have been reported at those locations, with visitors advised to be vigilant in these areas.

According to the Department of Environment and Science, three dingoes on K’gari have been euthanised as a result of high risk incidents since the start of the year.

As of Saturday, October 28, there had been 28 reported high-risk incidents involving dingoes on K’gari this year.

The dingo population on K’gari, estimated to be about 200, is considered significant because they have rarely interbred with domestic or feral dogs.

A University of Sunshine Coast study conducted this year has found dingoes are under threat and at risk to more diseases, with researchers calling for lethal control programs to consider “genetic consequences” before killing an animal.

The dingo is a threatened species.

Originally published as Video emerges of K’gari dingo interaction with fisherman and catch