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Are Dugongs the original Mermaids?
• Old Postcard depicts popular myth
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By
Lady J, Environment correspondent
Saturday,
14 April, 2007
It is believed mermaid legends may have originated when sailors from a distance glimpsed dugongs swimming in the water, and mistook them for half-human/half-fish creatures. These aquatic mammals, also known as Sea Cows, can have very lifelike faces.
They live in warm, shallow waters in the Southern Hemisphere from Africa to Australia. They breathe air through nostrils into their lungs, and can stay underwater for about 6 minutes. Dugongs have a life span of about 50 years in the wild. Some dugongs live alone, others live in small herds. The Dugong has live babies which it suckles.
Dugongs range in size from about 8 to 10 feet (2.4-3 m) long and weigh from 510 to 1,100 pounds (230-500 kg). They have a streamlined body and a flat, two-pointed tail. They are herbivores (plant-eaters) who eat sea grasses that grow on the sea bed. They rest during the day and spend most of the night eating. Dugongs have one pair of tusk-like teeth
Dugongs swim by moving their broad spade-like tail in an up and down motion, and by use of their two flippers.
Best place to see them is Shark Bay, Western Australia, which has a relatively large population. Hervey Bay in Queensland also has them in numbers. The Arabian (Persian) Gulf hosts the world's second largest population of dugong, thought to number at least 5,000 to 6,000.
OntheLam 2007
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