Why dugongs are endangered

We understand that manatees are threatened by warming water temperatures, which make it easier to assess their status as vulnerable animals. The problem lies in fishing and human activity , which puts those meadows at risk and have caused numbers of dugongs to plummet since the s. To what extent is unclear - their shyness and preference for muddy waters make them very difficult to spot.

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Archived from the original on 15 December Dugong Dugong dugon ". Retrieved 8 April Louise ; Delean, S. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Marine Ecology Progress Series. Bibcode : MEPS.. We use them to help improve our content, personalise it for you and tailor our digital advertising on third-party platforms. A dugong in a seagrass meadow. Image: Ruth Hartnup via Flickr. During Beta testing articles may only be saved for seven days. Create a list of articles to read later. You will be able to access your list from any article in Discover.

Dugongs help fight climate change by protecting seagrass meadows. But some populations could be in a critical condition. Dugongs, one of four species of sea cow, live near to coasts in the tropical Indo-Pacific ocean around India, East Africa, Malaysia and western Australia. Historically, they have lived along almost all the coasts of the Indian Ocean, and around some islands in the Pacific. But the animals are suffering pressures on their coastal habitat, and in many places their numbers are plummeting.

Dugongs are herbivores, relying on seagrass that grows in shallow ocean water - a fragile habitat that is under threat from fishing activities and human occupation. They were also killed for hundreds of years for their meat and oil. One of their closest relatives, the Steller's sea cow, has already been hunted into extinction.

Conservationists want to preserve different populations of dugongs and increase their chances of being able to adapt to ocean changes in the future. It is particularly important to do this because of the vital role the mammals play in maintaining healthy coastlines. But dugongs are tricky to study because they like to live in muddy water and they all look very similar to the untrained eye, so not much is known about where they travel and how their populations are structured.

It is also difficult to get tissue samples from living animals. Conservation in other places like Australia has seen their population crossing 85,, Tripathy said. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.

Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Dugongs, the world's only vegetarian marine mammal are threatened with extinction. Photo: Ashis Senapati.