A dingo on the beach a Fraser Island.
© Lachie MillardA dingo on the beach a Fraser Island.
Boy, 2, suffers bites to leg, arm, neck and shoulder and lacerations on back of head

A two-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital after being mauled by a dingo on Fraser Island when he wandered away from a house while his family was asleep on Saturday.

The boy suffered wounds to his leg, arm, the base of his neck, his shoulder and also had a laceration at the base of his head, a Fraser Island paramedic said.

He was flown to the Bundaberg hospital with his mother.

"The child has managed somehow to get out of the house that the family was staying at while other members of the family were ... asleep," said the paramedic, who did not want to be named.

"He's gone for a little wander and has been approached by one of the dingoes. This child is extremely lucky not to sustain worse injuries."

The paramedic said the boy was very lucky it was a lone dingo and not a pack.

"Dingoes will do what dingoes do and always go for the small, weaker ones," he said.

Police are interviewing witnesses.

A decision about how to manage the dingo will be made once the identity of the dog responsible for the attack is confirmed.

Key stakeholders, including Butchulla traditional owners, have been consulted, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said.

The service is reminding visitors to Fraser Island, also called K'gari, not to feed or interact with animals.

Dingo attacks on Fraser Island are not uncommon. The last one was in early February when two dingoes wounded an eight-year-old boy. Two camp grounds had to be closed.

Fines for interfering with the wild dogs were increased in 2019. In March a fisherman was fined $2135 for feeding a dingo.

Source: Australian Associated Press