Dingoes may look cuter than your average apex predator, but they pose a danger to humans.
What appears to be curious or playful behavior on their part may be a serious form of “dominance testing” that can lead to attacks or aggression if left unchecked.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has now released two videos showing a candid dingo encounter in K’gari (Fraser Island), showing the best way to confront a dingo.
A video of a man interacting with a dingo testing dominance has been shown to be the perfect example of dealing with the predator. (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)
The video shows a dingo trotting towards a person – who is filming from his phone – on a beach.
The person stops until the dingo lies down, and then begins to back away slowly, without taking the animal’s face away.
This continues as the dingo follows the person for some time, until it reaches their car.
The meeting took place in K’gari (Fraser Island). (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)
It matches the official guidelines for confronting a threatening dingo:
Stand up to your full height
- Face the dingo
- Bend your arms and maintain eye contact
- Take it easy back
- If they are in pairs, stand back to back (dingoes move quickly and there is less chance of being taken by surprise)
- Ask for help with confidence
- Do not run or wave your arms.
Of course, there are other dingo-safe behaviors to think about when around them, especially on Fraser Island, which has a large population of the animals.
People are advised to travel in groups, keep children at arm’s length, avoid littering, don’t feed animals, and if you need to go to the toilet in the bush, make sure someone can come with you
Australian marsupial listed as endangered