The leader of a pack of dingoes that killed a jogger on a beach in Australia has been put down.
Wildlife officials said rangers captured the animal on Wednesday and humanely euthanized it – which had previously been fitted with a tracking device.
This comes after 23-year-old Sarah Peet was attacked by three or four men. Australian The local dog on Monday when she went for a walk on the world’s largest sand island, formerly known as Fraser Island, in Queensland.
Authorities have increased patrols in the area following recent attacks on humans.
Witnesses said the pack forced Mrs Pete into the surf, a hunting tactic the animals use against larger prey such as kangaroos.
Tourists Shane and Sarah Moffat were driving along the beach in an SUV when they saw him being attacked and got out to help.
Mr Moffat told Nine News TV he saw two dingoes “hanging from his side”.
“She was walking towards me with one hand up, ‘Help, help,'” Mr Moffat said. “I could see the fear on her face, that she was not well.”
Mr Moffat said he managed to force his way between Ms Pete and the pack leader, before punching the dingo to scare it off – and he believes she would not have survived otherwise.
‘last resort’
The jogger, from Brisbane, suffered severe bite marks and was airlifted to hospital in a stable condition.
Authorities have since released no further updates on his condition, citing patient confidentiality.
The pack leader was one of three dingoes on the island fitted with tracking collars due to their high-risk behaviour, and another dingo killed in recent weeks after biting a human.
Another animal was put down in June after separate attacks on a seven-year-old boy and a 42-year-old French woman.
“Releasing high-risk dingoes is always a last resort and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s tough decision was supported by the island’s traditional owners, the Batchala people,” officials said in a statement.
Officials blame the growing fearlessness of dingoes on the island on tourists who ignore the rules by feeding them or encouraging them to approach them for photos.
Visitors to the World Heritage-listed Great Sandy National Park are warned not to run or jog outside the fenced areas because of the danger posed by the animals, which are a protected species.
Source by [Sky News]
