Quick answer
Key facts about dugong — size, diet, habitat, and conservation in one place.
Seagrass gardener
Dugongs crop seagrass with stiff bristled lips, preferring certain species and leaving tell-tale feeding trails across meadows. Healthy dugong populations indicate productive seagrass ecosystems that also support fish, turtles, and coastal fisheries.
Sirenian relatives
Dugongs are the only living sirenians in the Indo-Pacific; manatees occupy the Atlantic. Their closest land relatives are elephants. Females produce a single calf after a 13–14 month gestation, nursing for up to 18 months — a slow reproductive rate that limits recovery from population declines.
Cultural significance
Indigenous Australian communities and coastal peoples across the Indo-Pacific have long hunted dugongs for meat and oil, with cultural protocols in many areas. Today legal harvest, accidental drowning in fishing nets, and habitat degradation threaten remaining herds.
Conservation priorities
Listed Vulnerable, dugongs benefit from marine protected areas, speed limits for boats, and seagrass restoration. The Great Barrier Reef and Arabian Gulf hold significant populations. Entanglement in gillnets remains a leading cause of death in Southeast Asia.