The best way to shoo away a dingo might be carrying around an umbrella.
Griffith University researchers have studied the least invasive methods to keep the well-known Australian animal on Fraser Island at bay since spates of incidents from 2001 prompted calls for more effective management interventions.
PhD student Rob Appleby, of Griffith’s Environmental Futures Research Institute and a team of researchers recommend personal repellents such as sprays and carrying umbrellas.
The research, published in Pacific Conservation Biology, details a handful of methods.
Currently only electric fences are used, and although effective, Mr Appleby said this approach could not be applied everywhere.
Mr Appleby said portable electric fences, primarily used in the US for bears and wolves, were an available option but not as common in Australia yet.
Sticks are often used and suggested as a deterrent on the island. However, the paper highlights that among 160 serious dingo incident reports collected by Queensland Parks and