Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Genus: Dugong
Species: D. dugon
Binomial name
Dugong dugong
ABOUT THE
DUGONG
These enormous vegetarians can be found in warm coastal
waters from East Africa to Australia, including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and
Pacific. Dugongs are related to manatees and are similar in appearance and
behavior— though the dugong's tail is fluked like a whale's. Both are related
to the elephant, although the giant land animal is not at all similar in
appearance or behavior.
Underwater
Behavior
Dugongs graze on underwater grasses day and night, rooting
for them with their bristled, sensitive snouts and chomping them with their
rough lips.These mammals can stay underwater for six minutes before surfacing.
They sometimes breathe by “standing” on their tail with their heads above water.Dugongs
spend much of their time alone or in pairs, though they are sometimes seen
gathered in large herds of a hundred animals.
Reproduction
and Conservation
Female dugongs have one calf after a yearlong pregnancy, and
the mother helps her young reach the surface and take its first breath. A young
dugong remains close to its mother for about 18 months, sometimes catching a
ride on her broad back. These languid animals make an easy target for coastal
hunters, and they were long sought for their meat, oil, skin, bones, and teeth.
Dugongs are now legally protected throughout their range, but their populations
are still in a tenuous state.
credit to www.nationalgeographic.com
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