Dugong

📸 Photo by Ray Aucott on Unsplash

Slow, gentle “sea cows,” dugongs drift over warm Indian-Pacific shallows, uprooting seagrass with down-turned snouts. Reaching 3 m and 400 kg, they surface quietly every few minutes. Boat strikes, nets and seagrass loss place this shy manatee cousin on the Vulnerable list.

Habitat: The Dugong can be found in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Papua-new-guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi-arabia, Somalia, Sri-lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-leste, United-arab-emirates, Vietnam, Yemen