Pop Up: Sea Cow (Dugong Dugon)
The Dugong is a large, up to 3m, grey brown bulbous animal with a flattened fluked tail, like that of a whale, no dorsal fin, paddle like flippers and distinctive head shape. The broad flat muzzle and mouth are angled down to enable ease of grazing along the seabed. Eyes and ears are small reflecting the animal's lack of reliance on these senses.
These sea cows also have an evolutionary link to elephants, but their closest living aquatic relatives are the Manatee, an aquatic mammal that lives in freshwater rivers and coastal waters of West Africa, the Caribbean, South America and the southern United States (Florida). Another close relative was Steller’s sea cow, previously found in the northern Pacific. It was hunted to extinction in the 1700s by sealers for its meat. It grew almost three times as long as the dugong and fed on large algae (kelp).
This vegetarian mammal shares their ocean habitat with other marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales in mostly Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is now an endangered animal since it reproduces slowly -- females give birth every three to five years after the age of 10 -- but have a long life span up to 70 years. Worse, the Dugong is hunted by humans for its rare meat, blubber, oils, and hide. These harmless creatures get hit by boat propellers, and drown from getting caught in fish and shark nets.
These sea cows also have an evolutionary link to elephants, but their closest living aquatic relatives are the Manatee, an aquatic mammal that lives in freshwater rivers and coastal waters of West Africa, the Caribbean, South America and the southern United States (Florida). Another close relative was Steller’s sea cow, previously found in the northern Pacific. It was hunted to extinction in the 1700s by sealers for its meat. It grew almost three times as long as the dugong and fed on large algae (kelp).
This vegetarian mammal shares their ocean habitat with other marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales in mostly Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is now an endangered animal since it reproduces slowly -- females give birth every three to five years after the age of 10 -- but have a long life span up to 70 years. Worse, the Dugong is hunted by humans for its rare meat, blubber, oils, and hide. These harmless creatures get hit by boat propellers, and drown from getting caught in fish and shark nets.
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on Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 3:34 AM.
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