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Indian and western Pacific Oceans
- Commonly known as "sea cows," dugongs graze peacefully on sea grasses in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
www.worldwildlife.org/species/dugong
Oct 4, 2019 · Their intestines are long and suitable for digesting seagrass, and their metabolism rate is low. When seagrass is scarce, dugongs feed on algae. There has been speculation that dugongs occasionally eat invertebrates such as sea squirts, shellfish, and polychaete worms, which live in the seagrass.
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 their range is broadly coincident with the distribution of seagrasses in the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-West Pacific.
What do Dugongs eat? Seagrass meadows are a major food source for a number of grazing animals (including Dugongs) and are considered very productive pastures of the sea. An adult dugong eats about 28 to 40 kilograms (wet weight) a day.
Most dugongs do not feed on lush areas, but where the seagrass is more sparse. Additional factors such as protein concentration and regenerative ability also affect the value of a seagrass bed. [18]
Dugongs are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Their main diet is seagrass and they eat a lot of it. They can eat up to 40kg of seagrass every day. Mammals are warm-blooded animals with backbones. They are different from other classes of animals because their babies are born alive and suckle milk from their mothers.
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They travel along shallow coasts feeding on sea grass, and can feed for up to six minutes at a time before surfacing to breathe. Because they live in shallow waters, dugongs have been known to stand on their tails when surfacing for air.
A single dugong can eat up to 40 kilograms of seagrass in just one day. This impressive eating habit has earned them the nickname “sea cows.” Dugongs have a unique digestive system that allows them to break down tough plant fibers.
