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Dugong are the charming inhabitants of the sea, they are herbivorous mammals and most of all resemble sea cows. Actually, they are quite close to manatees, which are called sea cows. Zoologists attribute dugongs to a detachment of sirens. That's right, there is such a detachment, which is called a word from ancient Greek legends, moreover, from the Malay language, duyung is translated as a mermaid or a maiden from the sea.
In Russia, most often the dugong is called just a sea cow, because before a mermaid, such as the Russian epic describes this creation, it’s far away, there is not enough grace. But, when compared with a cow, the dugong is quite consistent with this animal. He also has a massive body, slowness and some kind of soft charm, which makes you touch and enjoy the habits of this magnificent marine creature.
Basic information
For the most part, dugongs prefer to settle along the shores - where the seas and oceans form bays and shallow lagoons. Now the area is a tropical zone of the Pacific and Indian oceans. As it is not difficult to understand, they inhabit the expanses of sea water and practically do not swim into fresh water.
They are the smallest of the representatives of the detachment of sirens, since with a body length of four meters they weigh only 600 kilograms, and such a ratio for such animals is quite moderate. Moreover, males are always larger than females.
The body structure is a kind of cylinder that has many folds that are characteristic of all owners of thick skin and a substantial layer of subcutaneous fat.
The skin really has an impressive thickness - about two or more centimeters, and the color is grayish with a slight gradient. The belly is always lighter and the back is a little darker.
Outwardly, the dugong would be easily confused with manatee, if not for the rear fin, which, unlike the manatee, is separated by a deep notch in the middle, and most of all resembles a whale. For comparison, the back fin of manatee in shape is a kind of oar or paddle similar to the fin of manatee, as you like.
Now we turn to the description of the face of the dugong, which also deserves some attention and is characterized by characteristic features. Auricles are absent in a characteristic way in many marine creatures, and the eyes are deep in the eye sockets, also for the convenience of living under water (by the way, while they hear perfectly, but they see so-so). The head is relatively small compared to the body and is inactive. The muzzle has fleshy lips and a blunt nose, which is equipped with a valve that closes the inner space from external water.
Dugong character and lifestyle
These aquatic mammals, in their peace and sluggishness, are like cows, and even more accurately described, they are timid cows. It would seem that the body of water is native to the dugong, so why don't they feel confident and even a little impressive there? However, they look rather timid, moving carefully and smoothly. The distance that the dugong overcomes in an hour is approximately 10 kilometers on average. On the other hand, dugongs do not need sprinting abilities, on the contrary, it is precisely such slowness and measuredness that makes it possible in many ways to be effective in finding food.
For dugongs, the main occupation is the search for various plants, that is, algae that spread along the seabed. Therefore, they float like this above the seabed and calmly eat algae - why not sea cows?
Oddly enough, but these shy animals are not particularly prone to flock formation. For the most part, they are single-handed and the formation of the flock, as a rule, is determined only by the presence of vegetation in some territory. Then the dugongs gather in a small group of five or a little more individuals, and smoothly ply in a separate location, as if in a group, collecting food.
In addition, there is the possibility of group migration, when the whole population goes to warmer regions in order to search for food. Such migrations are determined by the choice of more preferable climatic conditions for living.
Another oddity is complete favor for people. If you have ever seen some kind of sweet and pliable pet, then the dugong is an example of the cutest and malleable of them. Sea giants allow themselves to squeeze, stroke, hug, caress, kiss, photograph, make it easier to pose. They can be scratched, massaged and much more. Therefore, often when you are looking for a photo of a dugong on the Internet, there will certainly be a person nearby who squeezes a sea cow or does something funny with this animal. Actually, dugongs are not particularly against such communication.
The secret to this behavior is thick skin, which makes these creatures almost completely immune to external influences. Predators generally do not pay attention to the dugong, since trying to bite through such a skin is more expensive for itself. Both dugongs and predators understand this fact, and therefore do not interfere with each other and generally do not intersect. Sometimes, of course, it happens that a shark may want to feast on the young of a sea cow, but with the advent of the mother, predators retreat. Dugongs are able to drive away even huge sharks, who also see no reason to try their hand with these giants.
Dugong food
If you look at the chubby lips of these creatures, then the upper lip quite clearly stands out, which, without exaggeration, looks simply huge. It is this detail that allows you to pluck plants from the seabed. The daily diet of an adult animal can be about 40 kilograms of various sea grass and various algae.
Males have a small advantage compared to females of dugongs, as they have upper teeth - tusks, which are used, in particular, to scoop up plants from the bottom. They dig rather long furrows and along these paths it is easy to track where the dugong grazed and where it was headed.
The days of dugongs are quite uniform and measured, given the amount of food that they need to collect, they only do this. First they float about 15 minutes along the bottom, then they float up and gain air, and again to the bottom. So days follow weeks, weeks follow years, and sea cows continue to graze along the bottom of the sea, leaving behind them two long furrows as original timelines that are washed away by the waters of eternity.
Dugongs are not stupid animals, on the contrary, they know how to store food for the future and generally show some ingenuity. Often, the supply of algae is collected in a separate location, from where the dugong can then take the right amount and free itself from collection for some period.
Reproduction and longevity
In the tenth year of its existence, the dugong becomes an adult and can begin to mate. Moreover, dugongs are capable of indulging in this occupation at any time of the year, since they are not determined by the framework of the breeding season determined by nature. In general, they mate throughout the year.
Such freedom, however, does not negate the difficulties in the struggle for the female. In order to get intimacy with his own chosen one, the male often faces a duel with an opponent in the tusks. Dugongs quite skillfully use their upper teeth and can cause significant damage to the opponent.
In fact, the outcome of the match decides the further option of reproduction. The winner of the fight leaves almost immediately after that with the female and is engaged in conception of a new dugong. After that, the males retire and do not engage in their own offspring at all.
Gradually, the baby grows up and begins an independent existence, which is quite long. The age of the dugong reaches up to 70 years or more if external factors are not affected. By external factors we mean mainly human, which significantly affects the population of these animals.
At this time, the population of dugongs is quite small, people in the 20th century influenced these animals in the most negative way. Now net fishing is prohibited, and dugongs are protected by various international organizations. Allowed only catch using harpoons within small nations and cultures that historically use dugongs to maintain their own existence and are engaged in a reasonable catch of these animals.
View: Dugong (Dugong dugon)
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