Fraser Island provides a unique opportunity for tourists and residents to interact with dingoes. Although many interactions are positive, some interactions lead to negative human-dingo incidents, such as bites. This is particularly the case with children. One of the solutions to this by management is to cull those dingoes which are identified as aggressive. These actions are done without an understanding of the impact regular culling has on population viability, nor an a complete understanding of the behaviour of the dingo.
We are conducting several projects to:
– Analyse the behaviour of the dingoes when interacting with humans
– Look at methods that might help reduce conflict (see page relating to non-lethal control)
– Analyse the behaviour of Fraser Island dingoes around natal den sites
Publications
Appleby, R., Mackie, J., Smith, B., Bernede, L., & Jones, D. (2018). Negative human-dingo interactions on Fraser Island: An analysis of incident reports. Australian Mammalogy. doi.org/10.1071/AM16026