\nPiper James, 19, was found dead on 75 Mile Beach on K’gari on Monday. – Todd James<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In 1980, a dingo infamously snatched baby Azaria Chamberlain from her parents\u2019 tent in the Northern Territory. At that time, no one believed a dingo would take an infant and, despite her claims of innocence, the baby\u2019s mother Lindy Chamberlain was jailed for murder. She was exonerated years later, when new evidence supported her story, inspiring a courtroom drama starring Meryl Streep.<\/p>\n
The second fatality occurred in 2001, when 9-year-old Clinton Gage was mauled on K\u2019gari, then called Fraser Island, by two dingoes who also attacked his younger brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we started to see the fences being put up around the townships and the resorts,\u201d said George Seymour, mayor of the Fraser Coast region that includes K\u2019gari.<\/p>\n
In the days afterward, more than 30 dingoes on the island were \u201chumanely destroyed,\u201d a decision that prompted public outcry.<\/p>\n
A possible third fatality has put some in the community on edge. Not because of any change in the perceived risk \u2013 which they know well \u2013 but because they fear it could drive calls for another cull.<\/p>\n
James said if dingoes are ultimately found to be responsible, Piper would not have supported a cull. \u201cWe want no harm done to any animals over this, because Piper would not want that number one, and would be devastated to be any part of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Visitors to K\u2019gari are warned of the risks, but James says young foreign nationals like his daughter, who work on the island, need firmer guardrails. Piper had told her parents that dingoes looked \u201ccute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey look like her dog from home,\u201d said James.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose dogs, I said, \u2018You don\u2019t touch them. You can\u2019t touch them.\u2019 And she\u2019s like \u2018I know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Do not go into the water<\/h3>\n Around half a million people visit K\u2019gari every year for its white-sand beaches, sparkling blue lakes and native wildlife \u2013 including dingoes, or wongari, as they\u2019re known in the local Aboriginal language.<\/p>\n
Up to 200 dingoes roam the island, and while they look similar to their relatives on the mainland, their isolation from domestic and feral dogs means they have some of the purest dingo DNA. To Australia, their conservation is considered an issue of \u201cnational significance.\u201d<\/p>\n
While dingoes are treasured, they\u2019re also acknowledged as dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\nVisitors to K’gari are warned to keep their distance from dingoes. – DETSI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\nDingoes see camp sites as an easy source of food. – DETSI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Visitors to K\u2019gari are warned to stay at least 20 meters from the animals, travel in groups, and keep children within arm\u2019s reach. \u201cDingo sticks\u201d are provided to ward off those that get too close.<\/p>\n
\u201cDingoes see people as a source of food, and that\u2019s the issue, not people themselves,\u201d said Ben Allen, a wildlife biologist who works for Ecosure, an environmental consultancy that did the last major review of dingoes on K\u2019gari in 2012, though smaller ones have followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver here, they sort of jokingly call it seagull syndrome, where you give a seagull a chip and then it wants the whole hamburger,\u201d said Allen. \u201cWell, these seagulls have got four feet and teeth, so you don\u2019t really want to be feeding them a chip, because when it comes to ask for the whole hamburger, you can have problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tourists are urged to lock up their food and trash, and anglers instructed to bury any bait that may attract scavengers. Hefty fines are issued for anyone who feeds them or is seen to be encouraging their presence. Information guides warn visitors not to run, as dingoes will give chase.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, we\u2019ve told people that if you\u2019re on the beach and you\u2019re being stalked, you should go into the water,\u201d said Seymour, the local mayor.<\/p>\n
However, that advice changed after recent attacks \u2013 including two in 2023, when a 10-year-old boy was dragged underwater by a dingo before his sister stepped in, and when a woman was attacked despite running into the surf to escape four dingoes. She was pulled from the water by two men and treated for serious injuries to her legs and arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been saying for a couple of years that there is a risk of a fatality,\u201d said Seymour.<\/p>\n
An early-morning swim<\/h3>\n On the morning of her death, Piper James had gone for a swim alone on the beach near the rusty hull of the Maheno shipwreck, a local landmark that washed ashore in a cyclone almost 100 years ago. No one knows what happened next.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know if she actually went in the water,\u201d said her father, Todd. \u201cIf she did go in, there\u2019s a good chance she drowned. She was a strong swimmer \u2026 But good swimmers get taken away all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nThe SS Maheno is the most famous shipwreck on K\u2019gari Island and has become a landmark on 75 Mile Beach, very popular with tourists visiting the Island. – Deano968\/iStockphoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Swimming is not advised on the island\u2019s unpatrolled beaches and strong ocean currents are considered hazardous, especially along the eastern coast. Strong winds on Monday whipped up eight-foot (2.5-meter) waves, according to one resident, who lives nearby.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible James got into trouble in the surf before dingoes entered the picture.<\/p>\n
James knows his daughter didn\u2019t take a dingo stick with her \u2013 because she didn\u2019t think she\u2019d need it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPiper should not have gone. She made that decision to go. I just wish she\u2019d maybe taken a stick, or not have gone at all. She shouldn\u2019t have gone alone, that\u2019s the bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n
James said Piper loved Byron Bay and Bondi Beach \u2013 other popular Australian destinations for beach-loving tourists \u2013 but K\u2019gari was a \u201cnext-level kind of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Bell, the secretary of the Happy Valley Community Association on K\u2019gari, has been visiting the island on and off since the 1960s, and understands its appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a magical sort of place,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a wilderness area. And in that environment, there are a lot of dangers, be they sharks, snakes, spiders or dingoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nHundreds of thousands of visitors go to K’gari each year to swim in the clear waters of Lake McKenzie and immerse themselves in nature. – Nigel Marsh\/iStock Editorial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\nThe Maheno shipwreck has drawn tourists to 75 Mile Beach for close to 100 years. – stanciuc\/iStock Editorial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Bell said his time on the island has taught him to stand up to dingoes. \u201cYou stand tall, they see a large animal there, and they tend to run away,\u201d said Bell. Children are particularly vulnerable due to their smaller size and natural reaction when scared.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids tend to run\u2026 That\u2019s probably the worst thing you can do. Turn your back on a predator running, be it a lion, tiger, bear, you know you\u2019re in trouble,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bell said that, until the cause of James\u2019 death is confirmed, it\u2019s too early to decide what should be done. He said rangers are working hard to manage the risks \u2013 but for as long as humans and dingoes share the island, that risk will never truly go away.<\/p>\n
The land\u2019s traditional custodians, the Butchulla people, have a culturally significant bond with the island\u2019s dingoes, stretching back thousands of years. They have long called for caps on visitor numbers, especially during the dingoes\u2019 breeding season from March to May, to lower the risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should enjoy K\u2019gari, but they need to come when it is not the breeding season,\u201d Christine Royan, director of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation, told local media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe solution is not to blame or punish the animal,\u201d she added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to fight anybody that wants to remove the wongari from K\u2019Gari.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nSigns warn visitors to keep their distance from dingoes seen to be aggressive in the area. – karenfoleyphotography\/iStock Editorial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Queensland\u2019s state premier has ruled out a cap on visitor numbers and says any formal response will come after the full results of the autopsy. Seymour has called for children to be banned from camping outside fenced areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the government has to tell you to keep your children within arm\u2019s length \u2013 that is not why people go camping. People go camping to feel free to be there within nature. I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s suitable for children to be camping in the unfenced areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Piper\u2019s father agrees that children are at risk \u2013 especially those who camp outside fenced areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot leave people exposed and children exposed and let parents think that it\u2019s not going to happen to them, because we thought it wouldn\u2019t happen to Piper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nK’gari has a permanent population of fewer than 200 people. – Deano968\/iStockphoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\nVisitors also come to see K’gari’s rainforests, that are home to a variety of native animals. – Deano968\/iStockphoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Inherent risks of nature<\/h3>\n Over the years, individual dingoes deemed too habituated to humans have been euthanized, in consultation with the Butchulla people. It\u2019s not a measure taken lightly and only occurs after specific dingoes pose a repeated threat to visitors\u2019 safety.<\/p>\n
Allen, from Ecosure, says annual turnover in dingo populations is quite high \u2013 about two thirds of the island\u2019s dingoes die naturally each year. \u201cNot every pup can survive when you\u2019re stuck on an island,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The population typically peaks between December and February, when pups are learning to become independent. \u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon for this time of year to see the larger group sizes, which coincides with summer when everybody in Australia is at the beach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In some ways, Australia\u2019s challenge with dingoes is not dissimilar to issues elsewhere, for example Japan\u2019s attempts to hold bears at bay, or India\u2019s problem with lions.<\/p>\n
However, the dingo population is not growing \u2013 it\u2019s people who are becoming more common, bringing carloads of food for family trips, and driving up and down the beach where dingoes would typically hunt.<\/p>\n\n\nBarriers have been erected to keep dingoes out of formal campsites. – Matthew Starling\/iStockphoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
To some, they may look like small domestic dogs, but they\u2019re unpredictable and wild. And just as tourists are urged to stay away from large predators in other nations, they need to keep their distance from dingoes, no matter how harmless they may seem.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I travel to Kruger National Park in South Africa and wanted to go for a walk, I can accept a certain level of risk. I might get eaten by a lion or stomped on by an elephant,\u201d said Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I do the same in Chitwan in Nepal, which is a beautiful national park, I\u2019ve got to put up with tigers and leopards and elephants there, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have lions and tigers and bears, but we\u2019ve got dingoes and kangaroos and lots of venomous snakes and all that kind of thing. There\u2019s just inherent risks with being out in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
The James family plans to travel to K\u2019gari in the coming weeks to attend a smoking ceremony as guests of the island\u2019s traditional custodians. The ancient ritual will see smoke from smoldering native leaves waft over the island\u2019s sandy beaches \u2013 to cleanse, and to heal.<\/p>\n
James wants more to change as a result of his daughter\u2019s death \u2013 to force a change in rules and culture, so there are more guardrails around children and young travelers, like Piper, who are strong and independent but don\u2019t necessarily have the life experience to fully appreciate the dangers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe more education with Piper would help, because when you\u2019re put on the tour, you\u2019re educated, and then you\u2019re protected, and then you feel safe,\u201d he said. \u201cThen you\u2019re left alone and things are a little different than the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sun was still low on the horizon when 19-year-old Piper James walked toward the Pacific Ocean for a morning swim on an island whose name in the local language means \u201cparadise.\u201d Within two hours, she was found dead, her body surrounded by dingoes, wild Australian native dogs that roam freely on K\u2019gari, a national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/9acc5b1c2a35a360cbb82f9da303d3e2.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}