What seems like curious or playful behavior from them can actually be a serious form of “dominance testing” that can lead to attacks or aggression if not defused.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has now published two videos showing a candid dingo encounter on K’gari (Fraser Island), which shows the best way to face down a dingo.
The video shows a dingo trotting up to a person – who is filming from their phone – on a beach.
The person stands still until the dingo lies down, and then begins to slowly back away, without turning their face from the animal.
This continues as the dingo follows the person for some time, until they reach their car.
It matches the official guidelines for confronting a threatening dingo:
Stand up to your full height
- face the dingo
- Fold your arms and keep eye contact
- calmly back away
- If in pairs, stand back to back (dingoes move fast and there’s less chance of being taken by surprise)
- Confidentially call for help
- Do not run or wave your arms.
There are of course other dingo-safe behaviors to think about when in proximity to them, especially on Fraser Island, which has a large population of the animals.
People are advised to travel in groups, to keep children within arm’s reach, to avoid littering, to not feed the animals – and if you need to go to the toilet in the bush, make sure somebody is able to go with you.
Australian marsupial listed as endangered