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A pack of dingoes found around the body of a young Canadian woman after she died on an Australian beach will be put down, government officials announced Saturday.
The family of Piper James said the 19-year-old from Campbell River, British Columbia, ventured out Monday for an early morning swim at a beach on K’gari, an island off Australia’s east coast.
Queensland State Police said his body was found a short time later, surrounded and “interfered with” by a pack of about 10 dingoes, a type of wild dog.
In an online statement, a spokesperson for the government’s Department of Environment and Tourism said on Saturday it was aware of initial autopsy results suggesting dingo bites were unlikely to be the immediate cause of James’ death.
The release said rangers monitoring the wild dogs this week noticed “aggressive” behavior.
“Following the initial autopsy findings, the involvement of this pack in the incident, and observations made since then, this pack has been deemed an unacceptable risk to public safety,” the statement said.
“The dingoes involved in Monday’s incident will be humanely euthanized.”
Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said in the same statement that while euthanizing the animals was a difficult decision, it was the “right decision”.
“This tragedy has deeply affected the people of Queensland and touched the hearts of people around the world,” he said.
A brief social media post from Todd James, Piper’s father, said the announcement was “simply sad and heartbreaking information.” He notes that a final autopsy report has not yet been released.
He 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 his remains home next week.
A GoFundMe campaign to help the teen’s family had raised just over $20,000 as of Saturday evening.
James had been traveling in Australia since October with a friend, also from Campbell River, and had found a job at K’gari, a world heritage site which is a popular destination with backpackers and other tourists.
K’gari, the largest sand island in the world, is known for its dingo population. The Queensland Government actively warns visitors to be “dingo safe”.
Two camping areas on the beach were closed until the end of February and ranger patrols have increased since James’ death.
There have been a series of dingo attacks on K’gari, also known as Fraser Island. In addition to the 2023 incident, they include the fatal mutilation of a nine-year-old child in 2001.
Australia’s most famous dingo attack – the death of two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain in central Australia in 1980 – inspired the 1988 film. A cry in the darkstarring Meryl Streep as the infant’s mother, who was wrongly convicted of murder.
Friends and family said James was a “brave little girl” with an infectious laugh who dreamed of becoming a pilot. Her mother, Angela James, said her daughter was adventurous and loved motocross, camping and swimming.
A preliminary assessment of James’ body, released earlier this week, suggests there were “pre-mortem” bites in addition to evidence consistent with drowning.
The Queensland Coroners Court said the coroner was awaiting pathology results to help determine the cause of death.
The process is expected to take several weeks.
