Hero father wrestles pair of dingoes to save his baby boy, 14 months, after the animals took the child from inside of a campervan in eerie reminder of Chamberlain case
- At least two animals entered the caravan on Fraser Island, Queensland
- The boy's parents woke to noises of the child, who was dragged by the head
- An emergency helicopter was at the scene at about 2.30am on Friday
- The boy was bleeding heavily, though his condition is unknown
- Ninth attack on Fraser Island and third this year. A boy was killed in 2001
- Do you know the family? Email nic.white@mailonline.com
A baby boy was saved from a pack of dingoes by his father who wrestled him away from the wild dogs.
The 14-month-old was dragged by his head from the family's caravan on Fraser Island as his parents slept after at least two dingoes broke in.
The parents awoke to the sounds of their baby screaming, with the cries getting fainter as he was dragged farther away.
The boy was airlifted to hospital by RACQ LifeFlight Rescue after he was attacked by the dingoes on Fraser Island, Queensland
The boy was treated by paramedics stationed on the island before an RACQ LifeFlight helicopter arrived about 2.30am on Friday
The father looked outside then heroically confronted the dingoes and rescued his child before chasing some of the pack away.
The dingoes were believed to have crawled underneath a canvas flap over the doorway and taken the boy as he slept.
The boy's four-year-old sister was also sleeping in the campervan near their parents when the dingoes entered.
The boy was treated by paramedics stationed on the island before an RACQ LifeFlight helicopter arrived about 1.40am on Friday.
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The boy was bleeding heavily but was in a stable condition in Hervey Bay Hospital by morning. He was later transferred to Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane.
He suffered cuts and puncture wounds to his neck and head in the attack.
Paramedic Ben Du Toit advised visitors to avoid dingoes and never to venture out on the island alone.
'Just stay well clear of them, keep all food sources well locked up and away from dingoes, and never walk alone, always walk in groups,' he said.
The latest incident is an eerie reminder of a case which captivated Australia in 1980, when Lindy Chamberlain's nine-week-old baby Azaria was taken by a dingo in the Northern Territory
It is the ninth dingo attack on Fraser Island in the past 20 years, and the third this year after a six-year-old boy Michael Schipanski was mauled in January.
'I heard him screaming bone-chilling screams of terror and fear and pain, and turned around and saw him set upon and dragged down by this pack of dingoes,' his father Mark said at the time.
'I hate to think what might have happened if they got to his head or throat.'
A month later, two tourists including a nine-year-old boy and his mother were attacked as they tried to run back to their vehicle.
Research indicates that more than half of dingo attacks occur when the victims are running away, as the animals 'chase' response is triggered.
'Wildlife authorities recognise that Fraser Island dingoes may become the purest strain of dingo on the eastern Australian seaboard and perhaps Australia-wide,' the Queensland Department of Environment and Science website states.
Fraser Island dingo safety guide
Dingoes are enough of an issue on Fraser Island that the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has detailed information on how to stay safe around them.
'Stay very close - within arm's reach - of your children. Never leave children in tents, on beaches or walking tracks without adults; not even for a few minutes,' it said.
'What looks like playful dog behaviour is often serious dominance-testing by dingoes. People caught up in this display for dominance can be bitten or seriously mauled.
It is the ninth dingo attack on Fraser Island in the past 20 years, and the third this year
'Children cannot be relied upon to know or remember what to do if threatened by dingoes.
'Some children have been bitten by dingoes that have wanted food or were excited by the children running and playing.'
Visitors are also advised to keep food locked up to avoid them stealing it and to keep campsites so 'boring' they won't come near.
If threatened by dingoes, people should stand still at their full height and fold their arms across their chest, and calmly back away instead of running.
The last person to be killed by a dingo on the island was in 2001 when Clinton Gage, nine, was killed and his brother mauled.
He is one of only two people ever killed by dingoes in Australia, and sparked the culling of 31 dingoes on Fraser Island that outraged residents.
'On Fraser Island, they have become used to tourists as tourists tend to feed them. This has led to dingoes lurking around camping areas,' one local said earlier this year.
The latest incident is an eerie reminder of a case which captivated Australia in 1980, when Lindy Chamberlain's nine-week-old baby Azaria was taken by a dingo in the Northern Territory.
Azaria Chamberlain case
Azaria Chamberlain, nine weeks, was taken on August 17, 1980, by a dingo while her parents Lindy and Michael slept.
Ms Chamberlain was accused of killing her child and jailed for life after a murder trial in 1982, spending more than three years behind bars.
She was not exonerated until a piece of Azaria's clothing was found near a dingo lair. She later received $1.3 million in compensation.
More than 32 years later in 2012 a coroner finally officially ruled that a dingo had killed Azaria, not her mother.
Azaria's body was never found and the scrap of clothing that cleared her mother was the only sign of her.
The case remains one of the most famous in Australian history and is the subject of numerous books, films, and documentaries.
Azaria Chamberlain, nine weeks, was taken on August 17, 1980, by a dingo while her parents Lindy and Michael (pictured with a photo of Azaria) slept
