Attaque de dingo

La probabilité d'attaques de chiens sauvages contre des humains dépend largement du comportement de ces derniers à leur égard. Plus ces chiens sont nourris ou consomment des restes humains, plus ils risquent de perdre toute prudence et de réagir agressivement envers les humains lorsqu'ils se sentent en conflit. Lors d'une étude sur les dingos de K'gari, les chercheurs ont conclu que la présence humaine influence leur activité. Le tourisme sur l'île encourageait les visiteurs à approcher les dingos sans précaution, et de telles rencontres étaient pratiquement attendues par les touristes. Les gens perdaient de plus en plus souvent leur prudence face aux dingos, et le nombre d'interactions signalées augmentait. La ​​réaction des dingos envers les humains dépendait du comportement de ces derniers. Les dingos avaient tendance à se montrer agressifs lorsque les humains fuyaient et à être intimidés lorsque les humains s'approchaient d'eux de manière consciente ou agressive. Les humains adoptant des postures de soumission semblaient provoquer une réaction neutre ou soumise chez les dingos. Il semble que les dingos puissent manifester un comportement agressif envers les humains à différentes périodes de l'année. Cependant, les dingos adultes pourraient être plus dangereux pendant la saison des amours, et les femelles en particulier lorsqu'elles élèvent leurs petits.

Même lorsque l'habituation à l'homme semble être à l'origine des attaques, la cause profonde de ces attaques et la menace globale qu'elles représentent pour l'homme restent floues. Il est possible que certaines attaques résultent de jeux entre jeunes dingos, notamment avec des enfants. D'autres attaques peuvent être provoquées par des réactions erronées des humains face à l'agressivité et à la dominance des dingos. On suppose que les dingos ont pu commencer à considérer les sources de nourriture « humaines » (poubelles, restes alimentaires, nourriture distribuée, etc.) comme faisant partie de leur territoire et que, par conséquent, les attaques contre les humains surviennent parce qu'ils les perçoivent comme des concurrents et cherchent à protéger leurs ressources alimentaires. L'hypothèse selon laquelle certains dingos pourraient considérer les humains comme des proies est également envisagée, car il est théoriquement possible de les maîtriser, en particulier les enfants.

Bradley Smith, qui menait des recherches sur le comportement des chiens sauvages à l'Université du Queensland central, a déclaré en 2013 que K'gari avait un problème avec les humains et non avec les dingos, que les chiens qualifiés d'« agressifs » se comportaient simplement de manière naturelle.

The behaviour of humans might undermine efforts to guard against dingo attacks. Therefore, the change in human behaviour is at the centre of attention. Warning signs like "Beware of Dingoes" seem to have lost their effect on K'gari, despite the high number of such signs. Furthermore, some humans do not realise how adaptive and quick dingoes are. Therefore, humans do not remain attentive enough. They do not consider, for instance, that dingoes steal food like fruits and vegetables. In addition, some tourists seemed to be confused by the high number of rules in some parks, and they have been prompted in some cases to actively feed the wild animals.

In December 1933, when three girls went missing near Mount Coot-tha, the possibility of their having been attacked by dingoes was considered. Local livestock men who live and work among dingoes all their lives, said that they had no direct knowledge of any dingo attacks on humans, but from what they knew of the animal, they reasoned that a starving dingo would attack a defenseless human. Some had heard of human remains found scattered by dingoes. Scholarly experts couldn't comment due to contradictory evidence. The three girls were found unharmed two days later. Dingoes played no part in their disappearance.

The first well-documented case of a dingo attack on K'gari is from 1988. As early as 60 years before, a newspaper account reported of problems with dingoes. Between 1996 and 2001, 279 incidents with dingoes were reported, of which 39 were assessed as "major" and one as "catastrophic".

Three reports of dingo attacks on humans caused special attention:

• On 19 August 1980 a nine-week-old girl named Azaria Chamberlain was taken by one or more dingoes near Uluru. Her mother was suspected and convicted of murder. Four years later she was released from prison when the jacket of the baby was found near Uluru. This incident caused much outcry for and against the dingoes. The story was adapted into a film named Evil Angels (also known as A Cry in the Dark) starring Meryl Streep. In 2012 a coroner concluded that sufficient evidence existed to confirm a dingo attack as cause of Azaria Chamberlain's death.
• On 30 April 2001 nine-year-old Clinton Gage was attacked and killed by two dingoes near Waddy Point on Fraser Island (K'gari). The incident and the following culling of 31 dingoes caused much outcry among the residents. There were many protests and the suggestion was made to erect fences. The incident seemed to have had only a low impact on the tourism industry, and some tourists even felt safer due to the increased presence of rangers.
• In November 2012, a six-month-old dingo known as Inky was killed by rangers on K'gari after continued aggressive and dangerous behaviour towards people. The threatening behaviour included "lunging" at a family, coming out of the bushland at high speed towards volleyball players, and grabbing two tourists on separate occasions with his mouth, not breaking the skin on either occasion. Rangers attempted to trap the dangerous dingo for a month before they were successful. The captured animal was then euthanised. One Dingo advocacy group argued that, as a juvenile, the dingo's aggressive behaviours would be considered normal for his young age. Soon after, Inky's brother Byron was killed by rangers, although his documented incidents never reached the serious Code E level that his brother's had.