Dugong

Dugong : Recently, May 28 was observed as World Dugong Day, highlighting the vital role dugongs play in marine ecosystems and emphasizing the urgent need for their conservation.

• About Dugong: Also known as "sea cows," are herbivorous marine mammals that graze on seagrass in shallow coastal waters.

  o Resemble a cross between a seal and a whale and use their front flippers to move gracefully through seagrass beds in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, and Gulf of Kutch.

  o They feed on seagrasses like Cymodocea and Halophila, consuming up to 30 tonnes annually.

  o Dugongs live up to 70 years, reproduce slowly (once every 3–5 years), and are usually solitary or in mother-calf pairs.

  o Globally Vulnerable (IUCN) and Regionally Endangered in India, with only ~200 remaining in Indian waters.

  o Protected under Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act.

  o India signed the CMS in 1983 and the Dugong MoU in 2008.

  o In 2022, India set up its first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu (448.3 sq. km).