A tragic discovery on a popular Queensland tourist island has prompted campsite closures and increased patrols, as authorities investigate the death of a young Canadian woman found on a beach surrounded by a pack of dingoes.
Discovery and Investigation
Two men made the grim find while driving along the eastern beaches of K'gari (formerly Fraser Island) at approximately 6:15am on Monday. The body of the 19-year-old Canadian woman was located near the historic Maheno shipwreck. She had left the backpacker hostel where she had been working for six weeks just 75 minutes earlier, telling friends she was heading to the beach.
Her body has been transported to the mainland, with a postmortem examination expected to take place on Wednesday. Queensland police have stated they will not speculate on whether the woman drowned or was killed by the wild canids until more evidence is available.
A Delicate Ecosystem and Rising Tensions
The incident has cast a spotlight on the complex relationship between humans and the native dingo population on the world heritage-listed sand island. Between 100 and 200 dingoes inhabit K'gari, where they are known to scavenge beaches for washed-up marine life and are most active at dawn and dusk.
Experts warn that interactions between dingoes and the island's 400,000 annual visitors have become increasingly fraught. "We are causing the problem – dingoes are just being dingoes," said Central Queensland University senior lecturer Bradley Smith, who is finalising a second book on dingoes. He cited risky tourist behaviour, including feeding and attempts to take selfies, as emboldening the animals.
Violent encounters have risen in recent years, including a jogger being rushed and bitten by a pack and a dingo being shot with a spear gun. The Queensland environment department already advises against swimming on the eastern beaches due to strong currents, sharks, and marine stingers.
Management and the Shadow of a Past Tragedy
The death has evoked memories of the 2001 dingo attack that killed nine-year-old Clinton Gage, the first recorded fatality by the animals on the island. Griffith University associate professor Georgette Leah Burns, who was involved in the response to that tragedy, said it triggered significant changes in dingo management.
Improvements since then have included fenced campsites, dingo sticks, fines for feeding, and extensive education campaigns. However, both Burns and Smith expressed concern over the potential for another cull, like the one that saw 31 dingoes shot following Gage's death. "There is always a fear that a cull will happen again," Burns said.
In response to the latest incident, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has increased patrols, temporarily closed the Maheno and Wahba campsites, and installed five new warning signs. The state's acting environment and tourism minister, Deb Frecklington, described the event as a "heart-breaking tragedy" and confirmed her department is working closely with police.
