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The Dugong (Dugong dugon), or sea cows, are marine mammals which can grow to about three metres in length and weigh as much as 400 kilograms. 1. The name sea cow refers to the fact that they graze on seagrass. As dugongs feed, whole plants are excavated and telltale grazing trails are left behind. Dugong are more closely related to elephants ...
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The dugong (Dugong dugon) is the only herbivorous marine mammal. A single adult dugong can grow up to three meters, weigh up to 500 kilograms and live for 70 years. Dugongs can remain underwater for 3 to 12 minutes while feeding and travelling. They can eat up to 40 kilograms of seagrasses per day. Dugongs are seagrass community specialists and ...
The bristles are coarse and sensitive, allowing dugongs to detect seagrass easily. They work like whiskers, helping the animal sense its surroundings. Dugongs move slowly through seagrass beds, using their bristles to find the best plants to eat. This method lets them graze efficiently on seagrass, even in low-light conditions.
Dugongs are primarily herbivorous, grazing on up to 30kg of seagrass a day. They eat both day and night, locating their food with the help of coarse, sensitive bristles on their upper lip. These large creatures are found in warm water around coastlines, both north and south of the equator. They inhabit both freshwater and brackish water, where ...
Seagrass, in turn, depends on the sunlight that illuminates shallow coastal waters. In Australia, where a wide and well-lit continental shelf boasts plentiful seagrass, dugong populations can thrive.
What we can do to help dugongs survive. ¥ Look after seagrass beds: protect existing healthy beds from development including jetties and anchorages. ¥ Take care when driving boats in areas where dugongs are known to occur. This will reduce the chance of a collision and minimise the likelihood of disturbing them when they are feeding.
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May 14, 2021 · Another reason why dugongs may graze in seagrass meadows far away from residential areas is to avoid the possibility of the boat collisions. Hodgson & Marsh ( 2007 ) reported that in Moreton Bay, where there is a large population of dugongs, boat traffic might reduce the foraging time of dugongs and they also indicated the direct impact of boats on dugongs through boat collisions.
