We saw this adult Dugong feeding at dawn on the shallow reef flat at Geoffrey Bay on Yunbenun, Magnetic Island, on January 24th 2026. The animal was stirring up large clouds of sediment with its feeding activities, but as the sun rose, it moved across the reef flat and headed for deeper water.
The original range of Dugongs extended from the east coast of Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, north Australia and east into Melanesia as far as Vanuatu, but they are rare and endangered through much of that range, and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Northern Australian populations are now the last global stronghold for this species.
Dugong are completely herbivorous marine mammals that feed exclusively on seagrass, moving slowly in shallow, turbid waters which makes them susceptible to death and injury from boat strikes and fishing nets. If you look closely you can see the repeated scars on the back of this animal which have been caused by a boat propeller strike in the past. We are lucky to see these animals in North Queensland so keep a good lookout for Dugong when boating in shallow nearshore areas and maintain a moderate speed in your vessel, so that we minimise Dugong mortality.
coralseafoundation.net
#dugong #coralseafoundation #Yunbenun #MagneticIsland #marinescience #marineconservation
English
