The bewhiskered sea-mammals that probably inspired sailors' tales of mermaids could become extinct in 25 years, the United Nations says.
Pollution, coastal development, fishing nets and trophy hunting have caused a "catastrophic decline" in the dugong population, reducing their numbers to an estimated 1000 to 2000 worldwide, the United Nations Environment
Programme said. A dugong population grows only 5 per cent a year.
Although rarely seen by humans, the large tropical mammal - one of the last four surviving species of sea cow - has left its mark on popular lore by inspiring the mermaid myth.
Female dugong swim upright and hold their calves to their breast with a fin while nursing. It was this sight that most likely stirred the longings of lovelorn sailors in lonely stretches of tropical seas.
"From a distance, in a foggy area, their imaginations probably went wild," said oceanographer Timothy Foresman, director of the Environment Program's Division of Early Warning and Assessment.
Dugong have vanished, or nearly vanished, from the coasts of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Comoros islands, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Mauritius, once home to herds numbering in the hundreds.
Scientists have called for the creation of dugong sanctuaries and the reduction of pollutants that destroy seagrass.
The dugong lives in coastal areas in the tropics and subtropics, grazes on seagrass and weighs up to about 150kg. It has a large tail fin, two small front flippers and a shovel-shaped head with small eyes.
"The dugong is an indicator for the health of the environment. It is a clear signal that the living conditions are changing and that other products of the sea are decreasing," said Klaus Toepfer, the programme's executive director, who was presenting the first global study on the mammal.
The dugong is hunted for its meat, and its tusks are prized as aphrodisiacs. The tusks are also used to make pipes and amulets. Many dugong are also killed by boat propellers.
- REUTERS
nzherald.co.nz/environment
