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Dhuru and Nalkuma croc handling
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Mawalan preparing bark
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By Dhuru Yunupingu
On Wednesday the 14 of September all the Dhimurru rangers went
to Gaynguru to help Parks and Wildlife ranger Phil Wise catch a
small crocodile. He said there was a small baru (crocodile) trapped
in the cage and had to be transferred to Daliwuy.
So we gathered all the equipment we needed and drove down to the
town lagoon where the trap was. First we got all the ropes ready so
we could noose the crocodile jaws. Phil was there to supervise and
tell us the correct way to capture and noose the baru.
Me, Arian and Mawalan were the ones doing the noosing. First we
had a noose and secured it to the jaw at the back of its upper last
teeth. Then we used a cable tie to secure both jaws so it kept them
closed and safe. We pulled the crocodile up a little bit out of the
cage. Then we started to put the special, strong silver tape around
its jaws but not across the nose. Then we took it out from the
cage. We checked it to see if it was a female or a male. It was a
female. We measured it to see how long it was. It was 1.5 metres
long.
We checked its scales on its tail and found it was numbered. It
had been caught before and was from the croc farm. Then we put the
tape on its back legs so it couldn’t run. Then we took it to
the Dhimurru vehicle and we covered its eyes with a wet hessian bag
so it couldn’t see and it was quiet.
It’s important to remove the crocodiles from Gaynguru to
the croc farm because they are dangerous for people. Some people
visit Gaynguru to watch birds and walk around the area.
My work moving crocodiles is important and I’m caring for
the area.
Warning Sign about (Baru) Crocodile
By Aaron Nalkuma Burarrwanga
On Friday 23 September, NT Parks and Wildlife and Dhimurru
Rangers went to Bawaka to put a warning sign about crocodiles.
First Timmy Burarrwanga, land owner for Bawaka went to Dhimurru
and Parks and Wildlife office to plan to put a sign onto the beach.
The Bawaka community are worried that Yolngu and Balanda kids or
friends or visitors might get killed.
So Phil Wise, Parks and Wildlife Ranger ordered signs from
Darwin Parks and Wildlife office.
We got two signs, one big one and one small one. On Friday we
went to Bawaka with Phil Wise, Banula, and Marcus. First Timmy
showed us the spot for the signs. Then we started shovelling the
sand to make two holes about a meter deep. Then we put the signs
into the holes and put in the concrete. All signs are important to
give us a message about (baru) crocodiles.
The attack on Groote Eylandt shows how dangerous crocodiles can
be.
- Do not spray-paint signs or scratch out the words.
- Do not smash them up.
- Read them and think and learn.
