Australia: Dingo attacks boy

Rangers are searching for a dingo that attacked a four-year-old boy who was walking with his family along a Fraser Island beach.

The child was at Hook Point, at the island's south end, on Wednesday when the animal knocked him to the ground and bit him on the legs.

Rangers believe they know the animal responsible for the attack, but have not yet tracked it down.

Queensland Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said the boy's parents and witnesses in a car were able to ward off the dingo.

"But it took a while before the dingo stopped being a threat to the family - it appeared to have lost all wariness of humans," she said.

"We would regard the attack as serious and the individual dingo as dangerous."

As scheduled, the family of tourists will leave Australia on Friday.

Ms Jones said witnesses were able to describe the dingo, including its tag, and rangers believed the animal was part of a pack that had become used to human contact.

"The pack is well known in the area and is believed to have been regularly fed by an individual who frequents the island," she said.

"This leads to dingoes losing their natural wariness of humans and unsupervised children can be particularly vulnerable."

Ms Jones said while physical attacks on children were rare on Fraser Island, rangers would be ramping up their dingo awareness campaign on the beach and on barges.

Feeding dingoes carries a fine of A$300 and a maximum court penalty of A$4000.

"I once again advise visitors to Fraser Island of the need for caution and especially to closely supervise children, particularly in the Hook Point area," Ms Jones said.

"Fraser Island is a wilderness area and it is the natural habitat of the dingoes but it is a safe and enjoyable place to visit if people are sensible and vigilant."

- AAP