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Dugongs live in shallow warm waters of 
northern Australia.
They
eat sea grass.
Dugongs
are covered with skin.
They
live together in groups called herds.
What are dugongs?
Dugongs are marine mammals that live in the shallow warm waters of northern Australia. They live in small groups called herds. Dugongs have tusks, but the female's tusks do not develop very much. The shape of the dugong's tail is similar to that of a dolphin.
Size: approx,
3 m long, up to 400 kg
Colour: greyish brown
Diet and feeding habits
They eat the sea grass that grows there. As they graze, they 'walk' their flippers along the sand, rising to the surface every so often to breathe.
The dugong's head has large cheeks called jowls that help push the sand away from its mouth as it eats so that it never swallows sand.
Life cycle
A female dugong has one calf every four or five years. The pregnancy lasts for one year. To keep the newborn calf safe from sharks, the female moves to shallow water that is protected by sand bars when she is ready to give birth. The young stays with its mother for one to two years. It suckles milk from the mother's teats. The female has one teat under each flipper.
Threats
Dugongs are hunted by sharks, crocodiles and killer whales. The main threat to dugongs, however, are humans. Like dolphins, dugongs are often caught in fishing nets and drown. The sea grass beds where they feed are being depleted, dying off because of pollution along the coastline.
Dugongs were once common throughout the Indian Ocean but now there are only a few thousand left in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and just a few hundred in Asia. Dugongs are protected in sanctuaries and marine national parks in Australia. Dugongs are found in the largest numbers in Australian waters.
Did you know?
| The dugong has a close relative called a manatee, which is found in waters off Florida, U.S.A. The manatee is larger and its tail is shaped like a beaver's. Manatees are even more endangered than Australian dugongs. |
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| Sailors used to tell stories of seeing mermaids in the waters of northern Australia, but what they saw were probably dugongs! | Another name for the dugong is 'sea cow' |
Click here and here to find more information and pictures of Australian dugongs.
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/publications/dugong/
http://australian-animals.net/dugong.htm
Click here to find out about threats to marine mammals from humans
Acknowledge this source in
your bibliography like this:
Dugongs (2000). [Online], Available:
www.kidcyber.com.au
updated August 2006