Blame it on global warming, perhaps, but animal behaviour across the globe appears to be changing.
As if snakes, spiders, sharks and deadly jelly fish weren’t bad
enough, visitors to Australia have something else to contend with: wild
dogs.
The dogs, dingoes, a protected species, attacked a tourist this week
on K’gari, a World Heritage-listed destination off the coast of
Queensland.
Four dogs chased a 24-year-old female jogger into the water and bit her several times.
While, in Japan, four swimmers have been injured in dolphin attacks
on a beach in the town of Mihama, Fukui prefecture. The swimmers
suffered injuries, including broken ribs and bites.
The dingo attack on K’gari, previously known as Fraser Island, is
concerning government officials, with a local mayor of revealing there
have been more attacks in the past two years than in the previous
decade.
"Something different is happening over the past two years," he told
ABC Radio, pointing to both the frequency of interactions and the
behaviour of the animals.
Rangers have euthanised one of the rogue dingoes involved in the
attack, while visitors to K'gari will be issued with special “dingo
sticks” to ward off the dogs. They will be available at resorts and
campsites across the island.