Canadian backpacker Piper James died ‘as a result of drowning’ following dingo attack at K’gari, coroner says | K’gari (Fraser Island)

Canadian backpacker Piper James died “from asphyxiation” following a dingo attack at K’gari, a Queensland coroner’s court has heard.

On Friday, the court heard Piper’s cause of death was determined by a forensic pathologist and accepted by the investigating coroner.

“Piper died as a result of a dingo attack or asphyxiation in the setting of numerous injuries as a result,” a court spokesman said.

“The investigation into Piper’s death is ongoing and no further information is available at this time.”

The 19-year-old’s trip to Australia ended in tragedy in January when he was found dead on the beach of the world heritage-listed island formerly known as Fraser Island off the Queensland coast.

The autopsy found “physical evidence of strangulation and injuries consistent with dingo bites,” the coroner’s court said in January.

“Ante-mortem dingo bite marks are unlikely to have caused sudden death. Post-mortem dingo bite marks are extensive. There is no evidence that any other persons were involved.”

It was thought that James may have entered the water to escape dingoes before drowning.

Last month, James’ parents, Todd and Angela, visited K’gari as part of an emotional visit to return their daughter’s remains to Canada.

Her father said in a post on Facebook that he wanted to “walk where she last walked and somehow try to feel my daughter’s soul.”

The couple took part in a traditional smoking ceremony performed by the island’s Butchulla traditional owners at the beach near the SS Maheno wreck, where Piper was found after going for a morning swim alone in the early hours of January 19.

The last known sighting of Piper alive was around 5 a.m. on Monday morning, when he told his backpacking friends and colleagues that he was going to the beach.

Located about 380 kilometers north of Queensland’s capital, Brisbane, K’gari is home to about 150 human residents and a population of about 200 dingoes that are genetically distinct from those on the Australian mainland.

Dingoes are sacred to the Indigenous Butchulla people, who call them wongari, and are specifically mentioned in the K’gari world heritage list. K’gari was previously known as Fraser Island.

Violent dingo and human interactions have been increasing in recent years. In 2023, a pack of three dingoes bit a woman jogging on the beach. He ran into the ocean to escape.

In 2024, a dingo was speared to death and several dingoes were put down after attacking humans.

Butchulla and environmentalists have long blamed overtourism for dingo attacks on the island.

Following James’ death, the Queensland government announced that all 10 dingo packs linked to the tragedy would be euthanized; Leading dingo experts have warned of an “extinction vortex” for Australia’s only native canids on the island where they have likely roamed for thousands of years.

Environment Secretary Andrew Powell said it was a “difficult decision” but “one that is in the public interest”.

“This tragedy has deeply affected the people of Queensland and touched the hearts of people around the world,” he said in a statement on January 25.

Eight of the dingoes have since been culled.

K’gari’s world heritage advisory committee warned last February that the island’s ecology was at risk of being “destroyed” by “overtourism”. But Powell has consistently rejected proposals to limit visitation.

James’ mother Angela told the national broadcaster that both parents believed it. Killing dingoes “The last thing Piper wants”.

“He loved all animals no matter what,” he said. “He doesn’t want anything done [the dingoes]; they were there first. “He knew that.”

Central Queensland University senior lecturer Bradley Smith told Guardian Australia the decision to cull dingoes would have a “devastating” impact on the ecology of the population, which he said was on track for extinction within 50 to 100 years.

“This situation will never get better unless you improve the way people treat dingoes on the island,” he said.

“So this [dingo attacks] It will happen again.”

Additional reporting by Andrew Messenger