Two women have been slammed for flaunting their interactions with dingoes at Queensland's K'gari on social media after a spate of serious attacks.
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It comes after a dingo was euthanised for its involvement in a pack mauling of a young woman who was hospitalised with serious bite wounds to her arms and legs on July 17.
Rangers on the formerly known Fraser Island have been ramping up education and warnings about the danger dingoes pose as some become less wary of people.
A Queensland woman, 25, posted a video of herself with a dingo saying "this is so cute" as the animal growled and approached her multiple times.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service compliance manager Mike Devery said the woman could have been bitten by the dingo, known as wongari by Traditional Owners, which was "clearly exhibiting dominance-testing behaviour".
"It is not playful behaviour. Wongari are wild animals and need to be treated as such and the woman is lucky the situation did not escalate," he said.
A NSW woman, 29, posted a selfie with her head laying next to sleeping dingo pups.
Mr Devery said she was reckless to approach the pups and lucky the mother wasn't nearby.
"Wongari are known for defending their packs and their pups, and it is unbelievable that people would put endanger their wellbeing like this," he said.
"Our number one priority is to keep people on K'gari safe and conserve the population of wongari.
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"Those who blatantly ignore the rules for social media attention can expect a fine or a court appearance."
The women were each fined $2300 after their social media posts were reported to Queensland's Department of Environment and Science.
Dingoes becoming habituated after interactions with people
Senior ranger Linda Behrendorff said dingoes can become habituated after interacting with people as they lose their natural wariness.
"Residents and visitors to the island cannot treat wongari as cute, hungry or something to play with because the wongari will start to approach people for food, and that can put wongari and people at risk," she said.
"People have to remember that they can cause serious issues for other visitors if they feed or interact with wongari anywhere on the island."
Rangers have been escalating Dingo-safe messaging after a series of serious incidents which has seen children and adults requiring medical treatment.
In April a six-year-old girl was swimming in a shallow lagoon when a dingo approached her from behind and grabbed her by the head, leaving her with multiple puncture wounds.
And in July an eight-year-old boy was bitten and scratched when he was set upon while walking on the beach with his family.
Two dingoes have been euthanised in 2023 after being involved in multiple incidents with people on K'gari.
People are encouraged to report concerning dingo encounters or anyone seen feeding the animals to rangers.
