Tessa Waya

Like if you're in a camp area, you make sure if you see a wongry even looking or lurking around, you make him know that that's your camp area.

You know, with a loud voice, shout, yell.

He will know because that's your being the dominant one.

And I said, and he will just watch from afar because he knows he's not welcome in there.

And that's how that was managed back in the old times to now.

You know what I mean?

The community is very shaken up and it's just distressing.

Like, you know, I could only imagine what the parents, you know, are going through.

And so, yeah, I mean, it's quite heartbreaking.

Look, I was surprised, but it wasn't so much a shock in that sense because we've been actually telling the government that, you know, there needs to be a cap on the visitor numbers.

And then they want to say, oh, are we so shocked?

Well, no, you were warned.

So when we had found out, it was very sad.

Everyone was sad, you know, because to the Batchelor people, the Wongarees are their family.

You know, it's like they're brothers, they're sisters.

So that's how significant these animals are to them.

These Wonganis, they're punished for doing what they do naturally.

It's not right.