Dugong
Dugong dugon
Lifespan: ~70 years
IUCN: Vulnerable across worldwide range, unknown in Cambodia
All About D.dugon
Distribution
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Found sparsely across a wide range of coastal areas: from South Africa and Madagascar through to the Red sea, Persian Gulf; all the way through SE Asia to New Guinea and Australia.
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Shallow water whereabouts tend to depend on the tide and the time of day; shallow water grazing activity likely to be in the evenings during high water
Description
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Large hippo-like downward curved head with wide whisker pads and chin covered with thick bristles
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Nostrils are situated on top of snout with broad lips concealing the mouthline
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Flexible paddle-shaped pectoral fins
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Whale-like tail - key characteristic differentiating them from other sirenians
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Generally bluish grey in colour, usually darkening with age becoming more scarred and covered with barnacles and algae
Behaviour and Ecology
Usually travel solitary or in groups of up to 6
Dive between 1-8 mins at a time, coming up to breath only exposing its nostrils - fluke partially exposed when planning on deep diving
Sexually mature at 9-10 years
Gestation lasts for 12-14 months and females can calf all year-round - calves can stick with mother for up to 7 years.
Main Threats
Seagrass Degradation
Loss of shallow water seagrass meadows due to coastal development, trawling and anchor scarring can cause malnourishment in local populations, preventing the cows from breeding
Bycatch and hunting
Often caught in gill nets in shallow waters
Hunting of dugongs is illegal in many countries; however, this is barely regulated in a lot of places
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Boat activity
Dugongs are extremely vulnerable to boat collisions and susceptible to marine noise pollution, interrupting feeding and breeding cycles
the unknown!
Specific threats to marine mammals in Cambodia is still relatively unknown; work is being done buy KOL to identify these threats and how we can mitigate them in the future​
​​​Fun facts
In the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and parts of Thailand dugongs are believed to have once been beautiful women who - when captured, killed or beached cry - this is considered bad luck
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"Dugong tears" were thought to have been an aphrodisiac and used in love potions in parts of Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and Cambodia as well as East Africa and were historically sought after and hunted to extinction due to this property as well as being considered a luxury food across parts of these countries
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The name for dugongs in many languages is often a synonym for "mermaid" and was believed to inspire folklore surrounding them
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In Tambun cave Malaysia there is a 5,000 year old neolithic cave painting of a dugong, suggesting a historic relationship with dugongs
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