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Recognized domestically as “dugong” (Dugong dugon), this sea cow is a big, charismatic and delicate creature of the ocean that’s not often seen these days in coastal and marine areas the place they used to thrive.
Shy as it’s, little or no is thought about this very elusive marine mammal—its inhabitants and distribution, how and the place it breeds or congregates, or the place and the way it elevate its younger.
Fortuitously, as a species, dugong is surviving the quite a few human-induced threats, not like its cousin, the Steller’s sea cow that lived off the coast of western North America, which turned extinct within the 18th century primarily resulting from searching.
Dugong is certainly one of 4 residing species of the Order Sirenia, which incorporates three species of manatees—the Amazonian, the West Indian and the West African manatees. It’s the solely residing consultant of the once-diverse Household Dugongidae.
Dugong life cycle
Recognized to stay as much as 70 years outdated, it takes about 4 years to 17 years for this marine herbivores to develop into sexually mature.
By feeding on seagrass, an grownup dugong can weigh from 250 kilograms to 900 kg. It’s not shocking as a result of scientists say its closest land mammal relative is the elephant and never cows. It obtained the identify sea cow solely as a result of it feeds on seagrass.
A dugong’s gestation interval takes about 13 to fifteen months, which suggests it may well solely reproduce as soon as each three years, or as much as 7 years, and it may well solely produce one offspring at a time.
A mama dugong ought to nurture till the child dugong can fend for itself by consuming seagrass 14 months to 18 months after start.
Inhabitants decline
Recognized to happen in 37 nations within the Indo-Pacific area, the worldwide inhabitants of sea cows is on the decline. The Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pink Checklist of Threatened Species lists dugong as susceptible.
Within the Philippines, the dugong is critically endangered, a conservation standing meaning the species is only a step shy from being declared extinct.
But, regardless of its conservation standing, nonetheless little or no is thought concerning the dugong and its lifestyle. Maybe that is the rationale why its inhabitants continues to drop.
There are 5 precedence websites for dugong conservation within the Philippines—Calauit Island in Busuanga and Inexperienced Island Bay (which has ongoing conservation initiatives), each in Palawan province; the Malita and Davao del Sur space; Sarangani Bay; and the Sulu Archipelago.
Saving the dugongs
Within the Philippines, at the least one group, the Neighborhood-Centered Conservation-Philippines (C3PH), is working intently with the communities to save lots of the species from extinction.
In his on-line presentation in the course of the World Wildlife Day celebration organized by the Biodiversity Administration Bureau (BMB) of the Division of Atmosphere and Pure Sources (DENR) on March 4, Reynante V. Ramilo, programme coordinator of C3PH, mentioned conserving the critically endangered dugong within the Philippines has all the time been a significant problem.
“The decline of the species and escalating threats led to its classification as critically endangered,” he mentioned.
Human-induced threats
Ramilo mentioned the extinction of dugong could be simply blamed on quite a lot of human-induced threats—equivalent to fishery by-catch, direct searching, speedy coastal growth and habitat degradation.
“Typically, fishermen are compelled to sacrifice their [dugong] lives although they know it’s unlawful to harm or kill dugongs as a result of they need to save their fishnets greater than the dugongs,” Ramilo mentioned in a phone interview on April 19.
As a part of the C3PH’s conservation measure to save lots of dugongs caught in fishnets, Ramilo mentioned they’re providing to pay the fishermen the price of the fishnets to save lots of the lifetime of the poor dugong.
“Simply final 12 months, we encountered two incidents whereby we paid the fishermen the price of the fishnet and we had been capable of save the lives of the dugongs,” he recalled.
Protected mammal
DENR Administrative Order 55 of 1991 declared the dugong as a Protected Marine Mammal of the Philippines.
Because of this hurting, searching, killing, buying and selling, and even possession of dugong, lifeless or alive, is punishable by regulation.
The declaration provides it distinctive significance as a species, maybe equal to that of different iconic animals just like the Philippine eagle, which is protected by Republic Act 6147, which declared it as a Protected Chicken within the Philippines.
On the identical time, the Philippine tamaraw is protected by Commonwealth Act 73 that prohibits the killing, searching, wounding or taking away of the tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), that was accredited on October 23, 1936.
Essential ecosystem perform
In his presentation, Ramilo mentioned dugong’s significance to fisheries and marine biodiversity can’t be overemphasized.
A member of the IUCN-Sirenia Specialist Group, Ramilo mentioned dugongs assist stabilize sediments, filter giant portions of vitamins and play an vital position within the marine ecosystem.
“The dugong that lives in these seagrass ecosystems are wonderful barometers indicative of the general well being of the ecosystem,” Ramilo mentioned in a mixture of Filipino and English.
He mentioned the dugong’s fixed shopping of seagrass encourages regrowth, guaranteeing crucial habitat and feeding websites for a bunch of different marine species, together with turtles, dolphins and sawfish.
Elusive
Whereas it’s extensively recognized that they inhabit and may solely be discovered amongst seagrass, truly “discovering” them is simpler mentioned than performed.
Take it from scuba diver and explorer Gregg Yan. “It took me many years to see a wild dugong,” he recalled.
“Sizeable herds of dugongs as soon as plied the Philippine archipelago till searching and habitat loss significantly diminished their numbers. Some herds are nonetheless holding out in Isabela, Mindanao, Guimaras and Palawan, however encounters are extraordinarily uncommon,” Yan advised the BusinessMirror through Messenger on April 19.
He defined that encountering a dugong is not like seeing a whale, “which steals your breath away due to sheer dimension, nor a shark that conjures up only a primeval little bit of concern.”
“Dugongs are big however cute and pleasant, identical to a mermaid Hodor,” he mentioned.
Vacationer magnet
Whereas they’re certainly elusive and laborious to seek out, on Calauit Island, “dugong hunt” is being supplied as a part of the diving expertise to vacationers.
Danny Ocampo, ocean conservation advocate, grasp scuba diver, and pictures skilled, advised the BusinessMirror through Messenger that as a result of discovering sea cows just isn’t straightforward, an area Tagbanua tour information will give the probabilities of discovering them a giant increase.
Nevertheless, observing and interacting with dugongs require permission from the Tagbanuas that defend them, he identified.
Elevating consciousness
Ocampo mentioned ecotourism will help elevate consciousness about wildlife.
“With that consciousness, it may well assist folks to take care of them,” he mentioned when hunted for a remark final April 19.
“Ecotourism may assist elevate wanted funds for the administration of protected areas/habitats to make sure that endangered wildlife, equivalent to dugongs, can thrive and get better from inhabitants decline,” he added.
Based on Ocampo, interplay pointers had been already set for dugong and different wildlife tourism. It limits the variety of folks interacting with them at a given time or the period of time they’re uncovered to vacationers, which could be anxious to them or alter their conduct.
“These [guidelines] must be strictly adopted and common research must be carried out to evaluate if these measures are sufficient,” he mentioned.
Approach ahead
Based on Ramilo, C3PH will proceed to work with communities and native authorities items in Palawan with the purpose of creating a community of dugong conservation websites in Palawan.
C3PH intends to push for the event and implementation of the Dugong Conservation Space Administration Plan in coordination with involved authorities companies, and work with the DENR and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Growth (PCSD) for the declaration of sure areas as Crucial Habitat for Dugong.
“We need to promote participatory analysis and monitoring with the communities and the observe of citizen science,” he mentioned.
Hopefully, he mentioned, between 2022 to 2025, C3PH will have the ability to replicate dugong conservation in Calauit Island in eight or extra different crucial websites throughout Palawan.
Picture credit: Danny Ocampo
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