Rangers report that a four-year-old girl was fishing with a large family off the beach when she was bitten by a dingo in K’gari (Fraser Island).

Department of Environment rangers said the dingo approached the girl at 11.15am on Saturday on the east side of the island near the NgKala rocks.

They said it grabbed her in the chest area, causing cuts, bruising and a stab wound.

Rangers said a nearby doctor examined the girl and advised the family to meet with Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics.

The young girl was treated by paramedics and then flown to Hervey Bay Hospital as a precaution.

A Department of Environment spokesman said rangers had been informed that dingoes had been near a large group of anglers, including eight children.

This was the sixteenth high-risk interaction with dingoes that the authority has recorded on the island this year.

Rangers investigate

The spokesman said rangers had observed the male dingo involved and were investigating the incident.

“They will also continue to patrol the NgKala Rocks area and provide advice to fishermen and campers on how to deal with dingoes,” they said.

“Fishermen should never allow dingoes to roam nearby and should always keep children within reach.

“If fishermen are approached by dingoes, they should send them away, especially away from children.”