Dugong

The word "dugong" derives from the Visayan (probably Cebuano) dugung. The name was first adopted and popularized by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, as "dugon" in Histoire Naturelle (1765), after descriptions of the animal from the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The name ultimately derives from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duyuŋ. Despite common misconception, the term does not come from Malay duyung and it does not mean "lady of the sea" (Mermaid).

It is known as the balguja by the Wunambal people of the Mitchell Plateau area in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

The dugong has a fusiform body and lacks a dorsal fin or hind limbs, like all modern sirenians. The forelimbs, or flippers, resemble paddles. The dugong's fluked, dolphin-like tail, along with its unique head and set of teeth, easily distinguishes it from manatees. The animal's severely downturned nose is an adaptation for feeding in benthic seagrass habitats. The molar teeth are simple and peg-like, in contrast to the manatees' more complicated molar dentition.

The dugong is cylindrical in shape with tapering ends and a massive body. It has thick, silky skin that is cream in color when it is young but darkens laterally and dorsally as it develops, turning brownish to dark gray. A dugong's skin can change color due to algal development. Short hair is sparsely covered on the body, a trait shared by sirenians that may aid in their ability to sense their environment through touch. These hairs are the most developed around the mouth, which has a broad upper lip that is shaped like a horseshoe and makes the muzzle very flexible. The strong upper lip of the dugong aids in food gathering.

Dugongs are semi-nomadic species that dwell in one spot their entire lives but periodically wander vast distances in search of food. Many people go together from one place to another. Experts suggest that these motions stem from variations in the availability of seagrass. After considerable travel, they may use their memory to go back to particular locations.

Dugong's powerful, dolphin-like tail fluke is a major factor in their ability to swim. When scared, it can occasionally attain speeds of up to 22 km/h while cruising at 2–6 km/h. Because of their robust bones, dugongs are able to control their buoyancy and feed steadily on the bottom. The dugong's unique lips and bristles aid in uprooting seagrass. Its vision is poor, but its hearing and touch are highly developed. Dugongs typically surface every two to three minutes, but they may hold their breath for several minutes.

The oldest dugong ever discovered was 73 years old, and they lived a long time. Young dugongs are at risk from animals like crocodiles, killer whales, and sharks, even though they have few natural predators. Additionally, it has been reported that one dugong died from injuries sustained after being impaled by a stingray barb. Numerous parasitic diseases and infections can affect dugongs. Among the pathogens that have been found are helminths, cryptosporidium, different bacterial infections, and additional parasites that have not yet been named. The disease is suspected to have contributed to 30% of dugong deaths in Queensland since 1996.

Despite being gregarious creatures, they are typically solitary or in pairs since seagrass beds cannot maintain large groups of them. Dugongs are semi-nomadic animals that frequently travel great distances in search of food yet remain within a specific range for the entirety of their lives. Many people go together from one place to another. It is believed that variations in the availability of seagrass are to blame for these movements. After extensive travel, they can use their memory to go back to particular locations.

Killer whales, great white sharks, saltwater crocodiles, hammerhead sharks, and humans are among the numerous predators of dugongs. The dugong can affect the structure of seagrass by forming grazing trails and is frequently followed by fish species that remove parasites from their skin. By avoiding overgrowth and encouraging new growth, dugongs' foraging contributes to the health of the seagrass ecosystem. They also release various fecal materials to initiate the seagrass life cycle.

Reproduction

• Slow reproductive rate.

• Females reach sexual maturity at 6–17 years.

• Gestation lasts 12–14 months.

• Usually one calf born at a time; calves nurse for 18 months and stay with the mother for several years.

• Birth interval: 3–7 years, making population recovery difficult.

Dugongs are typically solitary or in small groups (2–10), though enormous aggregations can be seen in regions with abundant seagrass. They are quiet, reserved, and wary of loud noises. Dugongs communicate underwater via chirps, whistles, and barks. They spend most of the day feeding, traveling, resting, or nursing their young.

Even though dugongs are timid, kind animals, they can be alarmed if someone comes too close to them. They are not hazardous if you don't try to touch them, swim with them, or cause them any other kind of distress. Dugongs have become a popular tourist destination. Tourists are welcome to swim with them or watch from boats.

Although dugongs themselves are not directly included in the concept of "cultural appropriation," many Indigenous coastal communities in Australia, the Pacific, and areas of Southeast Asia place a high value on dugongs. They can be found in prehistoric to medieval Malays, Filipinos, Arabs, Thai, Vietnamese, and Aboriginal Australians' traditional tales, artwork, and means of livelihood. While commercial hunting is prohibited in some communities, limited hunting is permitted under indigenous rights.

Major Threats

• Habitat loss, especially seagrass degradation from pollution, sedimentation, coastal development.

• Fishing nets and gear, leading to accidental entanglement and drowning.

• Boat strikes, especially in shallow feeding areas.

• Illegal hunting in some regions for meat and oil.

• Noise pollution disrupting behavior.

• Climate change, affecting seagrass and coastal ecosystems.

Conservation Status

• IUCN: Vulnerable (VU)

Conservation Efforts

• Some populations are severely declining (e.g., in the Philippines and East Africa).

• Many regions enforce protection laws, sanctuaries, and ecotourism guidelines.

In its habitat, which includes the waters of about 40 nations and territories in the Indo-West Pacific, the dugong is the only sirenian species. The dugong is restricted to coastal habitats that support seagrass meadows because it is largely dependent on seagrass communities for survival. The largest dugong concentrations typically occur in wide, shallow, protected areas like bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands, and inter-reefal waters. Dugongs inhabit coastal and island waters between East Africa and Vanuatu, between latitudes of about 27° north and south of the Equator.

The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modern range, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong's current distribution is fragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products. Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include fishing-related fatalities, habitat degradation, and hunting. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.

• Appendix I: International trade banned and Endangered migratory species

• Movement Pattern: Random

• Individual Type: Solo/Herd

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: 123,000

• Locomotion: Aquatic

• Habitat: Mangrove Forest; Warm River; Lukewarm River; Warm Pond; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Kelp Forest; Coral Reef; Barrier Reef; Guyot; Neritic Zone (Warm); Neritic Zone (Cold).

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Australia; Bahrain; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Comoros; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; India (Nicobar Islands, Laccadive Islands; Andaman Islands); Indonesia; Japan (Nansei-shoto); Jordan; Kenya; Madagascar; Malaysia; Mauritius (Rodrigues); Mayotte; Mozambique; New Caledonia; Palau; Papua New Guinea (including Bismarck Archipelago); Philippines; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Somalia; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; United Arab Emirates; Vanuatu; Viet Nam; Yemen (Socotra)

  • Extinct: Mauritius; Taiwan

  • Extinct & Origin Uncertain (Resident): Maldives

  • Presence Uncertain & Vagrant: Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Kuwait; Oman

  • Presence Uncertain & Origin Uncertain: Bangladesh; Myanmar

• Berbania/Hirawhassa: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide

• Reinachos/Ityosel: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide

• Delphia/Thatrollwa: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide

To tame the animal, you must adhere to two rules. The first step is to keep feeding the dugong. The second is to exterminate or distract the nearby animals' attention. It would be advantageous to use a swift water mount to stay close to the dugong while feeding it kelp, seaweed, or clams. This is works on Rapunzel's world.

Due to their protected status under international law, their enormous size and specialized diet that necessitates large seagrass meadows, and their high level of stress in captivity, dugongs are impossible and unlawful to maintain as pets. Almost all attempts to keep dugongs for an extended period of time have failed. Dugongs have only ever been kept in a small number of aquariums (such as those in Japan), and even then they are subject to stringent conservation laws.

Miocene to Bereshit - 23,000,000-70,000 BCE

The Sirenia order of placental mammals, which also includes manatees and other contemporary "sea cows" like dugongs, also includes dugongs. Only Sirenia are fully aquatic herbivorous mammals, making them the only extant group of herbivorous marine mammals. Early Eocene-recent sirenians are thought to have a 50 million year old fossil record. During the Oligocene and Miocene, they reached a modest level of diversity, but as a result of climatic cooling, oceanographic changes, and human interference, their diversity later declined.

In 300,000 BCE, the Project Pashneia, a scientific initiative by the Terran branch of Deities to create or alter all creatures, including humans and recent animals, was where Eostre modified the dugong. The Aurorium neurotransmitters, which were located deep within the dugong brain, were a system of receptors created especially to react to certain Terran Ancient Artifacts or Pieces of Eden made of adamantium that were in charge of influencing emotions, thoughts, behavior, and adding or enhancing magical abilities.

Dugong - 9,999 BCE-present AD

Dugongs feature in Southeast Asian, especially Austronesian, folklore. In languages like Ilocano, Mapun, Yakan, Tausug, and Kadazan Dusun of the Philippines and Sabah, the name for dugongs is a synonym for "mermaid". In Malay, they are sometimes referred to as perempoen laut ("woman of the sea") or putri duyong ("dugong princess"), leading to the misconception that the word "dugong" itself means "lady of the sea". A common belief found in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, is that dugongs were originally human or part-human (usually women), and that they cry when they are butchered or beached. Because of this, it is considered bad luck if a dugong is killed or accidentally dies in nets or fish corrals in the Philippines, some parts of Sabah (Malaysia), and northern Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia). Dugongs are predominantly not traditionally hunted for food in these regions and they remained plentiful until around the 1970s.

Dugongs were traditionally hunted in Palau using heavy spears from canoes. Poaching is still a significant issue even though it is prohibited and dugong killing is generally condemned. Also heavily hunted are dugongs in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, where their meat and ornaments made of their bones and tusks are prized in feasts and customary ceremonies. In some parts of Vanuatu, however, hunting dugongs is frowned upon. For many years, Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders considered dugong meat and oil to be among their most prized foods. Dugongs are seen as a part of Aboriginal identity by some.

• Coming soon

See also: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IasZTAQl9rEIbA8yacrkxb3POz7zS5vh

• Ilocano: Dugong

• Malay: Babi laut, Lembu laut, Duyung

• Indonesian: Duyung

• Hawaiian: Kuno

• Tahitian: Tukongo

• Maori: Tukongu

• Navajo: Táłtłʼááh ayání

• Mandarin: 独角鲸 (Dú jiǎo jīng)

• Japanese: ジュゴン (Jugon)

• Korean: 바다소 (Badaso)

• Arabic: بقرة البحر (baqarat albahr)

• Welsh: Buwch-môr, Dwgong

• Irish: Dugong

• Scottish Gaelic: Dugong

• Romanian: Dugon

• Italian: Dugon

• French: Dugong

• Spanish: Dugon

• Portuguese: Dugongo

• Dutch: Dugong

• Afrikaans: Doegong

• German: Dugong

• English: Dugong, sea cow, sea pig, sea camel

• Danish: Dugong

• Swedish: Dugong

• Norwegian: Dugong

• Wunambal: Balguja

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugong

• https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/DUGODU

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6909/160756767

• https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/dugong

• http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=65051

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/dugong

• https://quotestats.com/topic/dugong-quotes/

• https://www.cms.int/dugong/sites/default/files/publication/dugong_for_children_e.pdf

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Dugong-930653691