Indian dugong discovery


This video says about itself:

The slow and gentle dugong has developed an interesting survival strategy to stay away from tiger sharks.

From Wildlife Extra:

Dugong found off India’s north-west coast

Rare dugong carcass spotted off Gujarat coast; sparks hope of a nearby population

January 2013: In a rare find, a dugong carcass was spotted off the Gujarat coast. The animal, about 5 feet in length, has been taken in for autopsy by authorities.

Professor BC Choudhury, Senior Advisor and Scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India (WTI), said, “It’s unfortunate that the animal is not alive but this is still exciting news. For years there have only been speculations of their presence here, with evidence extremely rare.”

Dugong

Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are large shy marine mammals, popularly known as ‘sea cows’ since their diet primarily consists of sea grass. Existing information suggests that the dugong population in India is restricted to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Mannar and Gulf of Kutch.

RD Khamboj, Chief Conservator of Forests and Director – Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park (GoKMNP), said, “This is good evidence that GoKMNP is a habitat for dugongs. It may be the sea grass beds along GoK that attract them here.”

He added that more information could be ascertained once the autopsy is done. “This is apparently a female (possibly a juvenile), and this could mean the possibility of a breeding population nearby.”

Few sightings

Classified as vulnerable by the IUCN red list, there have only been scattered sightings over the past decade, off the Gujarat coast, including one in 2002, and one reportedly photographed in 2012.

17 thoughts on “Indian dugong discovery

  1. They remind me of manatees in their look and that their nickname is ‘seacow’. But I did not know know that manatees lived in or near the Indian Ocean. Nevertheless, these are beautiful creatures and I hope they are able to make a successful comeback.

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      • Thanks for the clarification, bro. Much appreciated! I love your blog, btw. There is always something different to read and I love how you have colorful and vivid pictures for the animals and sometimes even videos. Thanks!

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          • Wow! 2005! You have been blogging much longer than I have. I have just started and have been doing it less than a year. I am trying hard to make a go at it but it is hard when I have no feedback, let alone an audience period, so I never know what to wrote about so that is why it sits inactive for long periods of time, amongst other reasons. I do not know how to embed videos along with other things but I suppose that comes over time as you work with the dashboard of your blog. Cheers!

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            • Hi, I had to move my blog several times.

              When I started at WordPress in December 2011, I had just eight visitors on the first day.

              If you blog regularly, then you will attract more visitors.

              Embedding videos: copy the URL of the (YouTube etc.) video. Then, in your Edit Post at your blog, click Add Media. Then, choose Insert from URL. Then, paste the URL. Confirm. And the video will appear at your blog post in the Edit Post mode between [].

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