Dugong: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Life in the Water · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Right after birth, a mother dugong nudges her calf up to the surface for its first breath. Newborns are already 1.2 m long and about 30 kg.
2. A dugong can hold its breath for up to six minutes, though two and a half is more usual. Some rest upright on their tails, heads out of the water.
3. Dugongs are slow movers, swimming at around 10 km/h. When feeding along the seabed, they walk on their pectoral fins.
4. Dugongs talk with chirps, whistles and barks that echo underwater. Calves reach out to touch their mothers with a flipper for reassurance.
5. With poor eyesight, dugongs use smell to find edible plants. They dig up a whole plant and shake the sand off before eating.

The quiz

1. What does a mother dugong do as soon as her calf is born?

• Pushes it to the surface to breathe (correct)
• Hides it in seagrass
• Leaves it alone
• Carries it on her back

Right after birth, the mother nudges her calf up to the surface for its first breath.

2. How long can a dugong go without breathing?

• Six seconds
• Sixty minutes
• Six minutes (correct)
• Two hours

A dugong can hold its breath for up to six minutes, though about two and a half is more usual.

3. How do dugongs move along the seabed to feed?

• They swim on their backs
• They walk on their pectoral fins (correct)
• They glide on their tails
• They roll along

Dugongs are slow movers, swimming at around 10 km/h. When feeding along the seabed, they walk on their pectoral fins.

4. How do dugong calves reassure themselves?

• Calling loudly
• Swimming in circles
• Hiding in seagrass
• Touching their mothers with a flipper (correct)

Dugongs talk with chirps, whistles and barks that echo underwater. Calves reach out to touch their mothers with a flipper for reassurance.

5. What do dugongs do to a plant before eating it?

• Peel it
• Bury it again
• Shake off the sand (correct)
• Cut it into pieces

With poor eyesight, dugongs use smell to find edible plants. They dig up a whole plant and shake the sand off before eating.

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