Diet

*Dugongs mainly feed upon seagrass.They eat large amounts of

seagrasses and they leave a trail of bare sand and uprooted
grasses behind them.
*Dugongs prefer delicate,pioneer species that are high in
Nitrogen like Halophila Ovalis(often reffered to as dugong grass
or sea wrack) and Halodule Uninervis (Halodule or Narrow leaf
seagrass)

REPROUCDTION PROCESS AND

PARENTAL CARE
*Dugongs can 17 years of age before they start to breed and
when they do will only reproduce every 3-7 years.
*The dugongs breeding season occurs throughout the
year.Although dugongs will delay breeding if they do not get
enough to eat.
*Once a female becomes pregnant, her gestation period is about
1 year.After that time,he usually give birth to one calf,which is 3-4
ft.long Calves nurse for about 18 months.
*After gestation period of 13-14 months a single calf will be born
in shallow water. At birth calves will be 100-200 cms (39-47
inches)in length and they will weigh 20-30 kgs(44-66lbs). They
stay with their mother until they are WEANED at 18-24 months
old.Dugongs reach their full adult size between 9 and 17 years of
age.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANATOMY WITH

FUNCTIONS *Dugongs are large Marine Mammals.they can grow

up to 3m (9.8 feet) in length and they weight between 250 and 300
kgs (551-661 kgs).
*They have a large body with thick,smooth skin,.They are cream
coloured at birth but develop darkens dorsally and laterally to
brownish /grey or dark grey coloured as they get older.Their under
side is slightly paler and they have a sparse covering of hair over
their body.
*Their head is rounded with small eyes and they have a large
snout,their upper lip is well developed and its forms a U-SHAPED
pad that has two ridges with large,STIFF BRISTLES.
*Dugongs have excellent hearing but not very good eyesight and
sometimes adult males and older females have small TUSKS.
*Dugongs,like other mammals,must surface to breath,but they
cannot hold their breath for very long.Their Nostril are situated on
the top of their snout and they are able to close them when they go
underwater.
*Dugongs brain weighs a maximum of 300 g(11 oz),about 0.1% of
the animals body weight.
*They have paddle-like front flippers which measure between 35 and
45 cms (13.8-17.7 inches) in length and they have a flucked tail
which propels thenm through the water when they move its up and
down.

ECONOMIC USES
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE FOR
HUMANS:POSITIVE
*Dugongs have historically provided easy targets for
hunters,who killed them for their meat oil,skin and bones.
*Dugongs served not only as a source of food,but their
tusks were used as sword handles.

*A Cave painting of a dugong Tambun

Cave,Perak,Malaysia.
*Body parts are used as food,Medicine and Decorations.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE FOR

HUMANS:NEGATIVE
*There are no known adverse effects of dugongs on
humans.

CONSERVATION
*The dugong is listed as VULNERABLE on the IUCN
RED LIST.They are hunted for their
meat,oil,skin,bones and teeth.They are also
threathened by entanglement in fishing gear and
coastal pollution.
*Dugong population sizes are not well known,since
dugongs are long-lived animals with a low
reproduction rate,according to the UNITED
NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP) even
a slight reduction in adult survivorship as a result
of habitats loss,disease,hunting or incidental
drowning in nets,can result in a chronic decline.