Left: a hunter works the freshly exposed
soil as the fire continues to clear the
ground.
Below left: Warradjan and Ngalmangiyi
depicted in bim (rock art) high in the
escarpment country.
surrounding areas. Chelodina rugosa is the largest, grow-
ing to 360mm carapace length (CL); this species will
inhabit seasonal and permanent creeks, rivers, billabongs
and floodplains. Chelodina burrungandjii (CL 266mm) is
generally restricted to escarpment streams and rivers, and
there is minimal overlap with C. Rugosa. Emydura
tanybaraga (CL 285mm) is sympatric with C. Rugosa,
while W. latisternum (CL 280mm) is uncommon but can
be found in the permanent rivers and adjacent permanent
bodies of water. Of these four species only two are gener-
ally encountered while hunting; C. Rugosa makes up the
vast majority of the harvest and E. tanybaraga represents
most of the remainder.
Unsurprisingly, the hunting methods reflect the turtles’
seasonal movements. Beginning in the run off, known
locally as Bankerreng (generally around April to May)
the reptiles are forced to move from the areas that they
have gained access to during the flooding monsoons.
Throughout the day and night turtles will travel through
the scrub, along roads and even into backyards searching
for more permanent water sources - making them very
visible and easy to capture. Bankerreng is prime fishing
time for Barramundi and other fish species, and occasion-
ally turtles will fall foul of a baited hook during fishing
trips. Few local people target turtles during this time of
year, but if they are found they do not escape the menu.
An occasional exception comes when word travels that
large numbers of Ngalmangiyi and Ngarrderrhwo are on
the move. This does not happen often, but when it does
families will travel for several hours to enjoy the easy
pickings.
As the creeks and floodplains shrink into the cold and
then the hot dry seasons, Wurrkeng and Kurrung
(between June and October), the turtles seek refuge and
are concentrated in and along the banks of billabongs and
slow-moving rivers, and in the lower-lying areas of the
floodplains. They will not move from these areas until
the rains return. For unknown reasons, C. rugosa will
bury themselves up to 20cm deep in the ground across
the floodplains; this includes areas immediately adjacent
to swamps and billabongs long before they have lost
access to that water. The other species of turtles will re-
main in the waterbodies and bury themselves only when
there is no longer any permanent water available.