Dingoes that circled Canadian woman’s body on Australian beach to be culled

A coroner’s report found that Canadian Piper James likely died of drowning after her body was found surrounded by a pack of dingoes.

A pack of dingoes found circling the body of a young Canadian after her death on a beach in Australia will be culled, government officials announced Saturday.

The family of Piper James has said the 19-year-old from Campbell River, B.C., ventured out Monday for an early-morning swim on a beach on K’gari, an island off Australia’s east coast.

Police in the state of Queensland have said her body was found not long after, surrounded and “interfered with” by a pack of about 10 dingoes, a type of wild dog.

In an online statement, a spokesperson from the government’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism said Saturday they were aware of initial autopsy findings suggesting dingo bites were likely not James’s immediate cause of death.

The statement said rangers monitoring the wild dogs this week have noticed “aggressive” behaviour.

“Following the initial autopsy findings, this pack’s involvement in the incident, and observations since, this pack has been deemed an unacceptable public safety risk,” the statement said.

“Dingoes involved in Monday’s incident will be humanely euthanized.”

Minister Andrew Powell said in the same statement that while euthanizing the animals was a tough decision, it’s the “right call.”

“This tragedy has deeply affected Queenslanders and touched the hearts of people around the world,” he said.

A brief social media post from Todd James, Piper’s father, says the announcement is “simply sad, heart-wrenching information.” He notes a final autopsy report has yet to be issued.

He has previously said a “smoke ceremony” for his daughter would be held in Australia, and the family hopes to attend. They are also expected to bring home her remains next week.

A GoFundMe campaign to do so had raised a little more than $20,000 as of late Saturday.

James had been travelling around Australia since October with a friend, also from Campbell River, and had found a job on K’gari, a world heritage site that is a popular destination for backpackers and other tourists.

K’gari, the world’s largest sand island, is known for its population of dingoes. The Queensland government actively warns visitors to be “dingo safe.”

Two beach camping areas have been closed until the end of February, and ranger patrols have increased since James’s death.

There has been a series of dingo attacks on K’gari, also known as Fraser Island. In addition to the 2023 incident, they include the fatal mauling of a nine-year-old in 2001.

Australia’s most notorious dingo attack — the death of two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain in central Australia in 1980 — inspired the 1988 film “A Cry in the Dark,” featuring Meryl Streep as the infant’s mother, who was wrongfully convicted of murder.

Friends and family have said James was a “brave little girl” with an infectious laugh who dreamt of becoming a pilot. Her mother, Angela James, has said her daughter was adventurous and loved motocross, camping and swimming.

A preliminary assessment on James’s body, released earlier this week, suggests there were “pre-mortem” bites in addition to evidence consistent with drowning.

The Coroners Court of Queensland has said the coroner is awaiting pathology results to further assist in determining the cause of death.

The process is expected to take several weeks.

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press