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Growing up to 3 metres long and weighing over 400kg, Dugongs are fluke-tailed relatives of the manatee. They swim at a gentle pace of 10km/hr, by using their tail in a whale-like manner and their front-flippers like dolphins.
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Australia is home to the world’s largest dugong population with more than 100,000 thought to live in the Torres Strait.Dugongs diet consists almost entirely of seagrass.Dugongs can live for around 70 years, but they are slow to mature, with females reaching breeding age at around 10 years.Females only give birth to a single calf every 3-7 years. The calf will stay with its mother for two years.While some of Australia’s dugong populations are healthy, others, such as on the Southern Great Barrier Reef, are in decline. Commercial gillnet fishing is a major threat to dugongs in Queensland. Dugongs are air breathing marine mammals, and are easily entangled in fishing nets and drown. Some areas along the eastern Queensland coastline are close...
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (2021) ‘Dugong’ Available at https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=28Queensland Government (2021) ‘Nature Conservation Act 1992’ Available at https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1992-020Marsh H, Sobtzick S (2019) Dugong Dugon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T6909A160756767.en.Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (n.d.) ‘Dugongs’ Available at https://www.environment.gov.au/marine/marine-species/dugongsDugongs in Moreton Bay, Australia, are omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates such as polychaetes [94] or marine algae when the supply of their choice grasses decreases. In other southern areas of both western and eastern Australia, there is evidence that dugongs actively seek out large invertebrates.
Aug 22, 2022 · Dugongs, or sea cows as they are sometimes called, are marine animals which can grow to about three metres in length and weigh as much as 400 kilograms. They are the only marine mammals in Australia that live mainly on plants.
Dugongs mature between 10–17 years old and can live up to 70. A female only reproduces every 3–7 years. After giving birth, she nurses and nurtures her calf for 1–2 years.
Average lifespan. Up to 70 years in the wild. Size. 3 metres. The dugong is one of the ocean’s most interesting inhabitants. More closely related to the elephant than the dolphin or whale, this gentle seagrass-munching mammal is often given the name ‘sea cow’ and rightly so.
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Dugongs are large marine mammals often called sea cows due to their herbivorous diet and slow, gentle nature. They are related to both manatees and—surprisingly—elephants. They live in warm coastal waters from East Africa to Australia, grazing on underwater grasses as their main food source.
