Dugong Facts

The name is 'Gong'...'Dugong'! One of the most fascinating and beautiful creatures of mother Earth. Personally, even the name fascinates me! It is the only marine mammal whose diet comprises almost entirely of seagrass. Known scientifically as Dugong dugon, this enormous vegetarian is known to house the warm coastal waters from East Africa to Australia. The mammal hails from one of the four families that lie in the order Sirenia. This order, according to experts, is believed to have evolved from four-legged land mammals. The time of occurrence of this evolution is believed to be over 60 million years ago. This is the reason why the dugong has the elephant as its closest living relative on land.

Interesting Dugong Facts

Appearance
The shape and size of this mammal can be roughly compared to that of a dolphin. The only difference is the former has a less-streamlined head and lacks dorsal fin. However, it does have a flattened fluked tail like that of a dolphin. The adult is light brown in color, while a juvenile is pale brown. The dugong has a large mouth and its upper lip is covered in bristles. This is to help it forage for seagrass. Its flippers are paddle-like, and it has its ears and eyes located on the side of its head, with a muzzle that is large and fleshy.

Food
As mentioned before, the dugong is a mammal whose diet is almost entirely vegetarian. It is known to graze on underwater seagrass all day long. That is they reason why it is also known to be an exclusive benthic feeder, a characteristic which is absent in manatees. One important fact about the dugong is the way it feeds on seagrass. Using its snout, it digs furrows in the seabed and simply uproots its meal, shaking its head to get rid of the sand. Although the mammal usually feeds on seagrass that lies 1 - 5 meters deep, it is also known to go to a depth of over 20 meters. 50 kilograms of seagrass is the amount of food it savors each day.

Habitat
According to surveys, the Shark Bay Marine Park, Western Australia, boasts home to the largest population of the Australian dugong in the world. The figure comes up to over 10,000. And in the entire Australian waters, there are about 80,000 of these swimmers. Most of the important habitats of the creature lie in protection of marine parks, and marine reserves. The Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean happens to be the home of this plant-eating mammal.

Reproduction
By the age of 9 - 10 years, the mammal is sexually matured. However, in some cases, it can be as late as 15 years, as well. To avoid predators such as sharks, the mother gives birth in shallow waters. The gestation period lasts for 12 - 14 months, and the juvenile remains close to its mother for about 1 year and 6 months. After a calf is born, the mother would not breed for a period of 2.5 to 7 years. Given such a low productive rate, the dugong population remains vulnerable to near extinction.

Some More Facts About the Dugong

• The mammal gets only 6 minutes for staying underwater, after which it must resurface to breathe.
• The mammal sometime stays in a standing-like position to breathe with its head above water.
• The natural predators to this slow-moving creature are large sharks, saltwater crocodiles and killer whales. And due to its languid nature, it also comes as an easy game for coastal hunters.
• Another interesting dugong fact dates back to a 5,000 year old painting. This painting has an illustration of this mammal. Experts believe that the picture was drawn by the people in the neolithic age.
• Chirp, squeaks, trills, barks and probably other kinds of sounds are used as a means of communication by these aquatic creatures.
• A dugong swims across the water with a speed of 10 km/hr and sometimes, 22 km/her, but only for a short time.

To conclude with another fact about the dugong, this mammal derives its name from the Malay language. According to this language, the name 'duyung' means 'lady of the sea'.