HABITAT:

Dugongs live in the sea their entire lives. They undertake long distance movements and are found in the warm waters of East Africa, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and sometimes Indonesia. They graze on underwater sea grass and seaweed located in great Seagrass meadows. Dugongs can eat up to 88 punds of this grass per day. Although many of these important meadows have been destroyed by human causes, either chemical polution or coastal development. Due to the fact that dugongs are strict vegetariens and rely on only seagrass, the loss of their only food will eventually lead to starvation and will decrease there numbers to even fewer. 

 

BEHAVIOURS:

Dugongs will either live by themselves, in pairs or in small groups. A female dugong will cary 1 calf per year, When her baby is born, she helps her young surface for their first breathe. The two will stay together for 18 months or until her baby they are able to live by themselves. Dugongs are very slow moving animals, travelling upto 6 miles per hour. Because of their slow speeds, hunting dugongs is very easy for those who wish to. They are predomanently hunted for the oil, meat, skin, bones and teeth although are also hunted by sharts and killer whales. Dugong can live for up to seventy years, although in the near future, this number is sure to decrease. 

 

APPEARANCE:

Dugongs are large animals that look somewhat like manatees. They have grey rough leathery skin and can grow up to three metres in length. A full grown male can weight up to four hundred kilograms and their only hair is located in the bristles around their mouths. Their large mouths and lips are used for bristling for food in the seagrass meadows. Their tales are fluked like a whales and have two flippers that are used for paddling. Believe it or not, dugongs are more related to elephants than any creature living in the sea. 

 

CAUSE FOR LOSS:

Over the past forty years, dugong number have fallen by ninety seven percent. This is because of a number of reasons which are:

• Over-hunting - mostly done in Aboriginal communities,

• Being slaughters for their meat, oil, skin, bones and their teeth

• Coastal construction in areas near their prescious sea grass meadows

• Increase in human chemical polution 

• Industrial land activities which later polute the ocean 

• Sharks and killer whales 

• Loss of Seagrass meadows - due to human causes 

 

ACTION:

Today, the endangered species of dugong are protected by law. This means that certain areas of their habitats have been protected and should be supplied with enough food. Although dugong numbers are still extremely low because of their slow reproduction. If circumstances remain the same, these wonerful and interesting animals will be catagoriesed into the critically endangered list of animals and will one day become extinct. 

 

DOT POINTS FROM RESEARCH: