Found traces of sea cows in Con Dao

Scientists from the Con Dao National Park Management Board have discovered many signs of dugong seaweed in the area of ​​the Land of the Slope when diving to monitor marine biodiversity in the Con Dao sea area.

The sea area of ​​the Cape land is home to many seagrass species, the main food of dugong. They prefer the grass halophil ( sardines ), halodule (chives) because they are low in fiber and high in protein, making them easy to digest.

Each dugong eats about 25kg of seaweed every day, so they spend most of their time making food. When eating, dugong creates a groove in the sand because the grass has been extracted. This is a sign that the dugong has appeared there.

People in Con Dao said they often found dugong appearing from December 2008 to April 2009 in the Lo Voi, Chim Chim, and Dat Dat beaches.

Dugong once went to the Lo Voi site to earn a living and was measured by the scientists.Photo: Con Dao National Park

Dugong is a rare and precious animal in the world red book. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, of the Department of Environmental Science and Education, Con Dao National Park said that currently, in Vietnam, there are about 10 children left and only appear in Con Dao waters.

Dugong is also known as bows, sea cows. Based on the appearance of the exterior, dugong has the name mermaid. Dugong often lives alone, or each mother-child pair, rarely concentrating in groups or groups.

Each dugong has an average length of about 2.4 m to 2.7 m, weighs 500 kg, the average life expectancy is 70 years. Dugong's eyes are on the side of his head so his eyesight is very poor, but his hearing is very sharp.

Because of the great weight, every one to two minutes, dugong floats to the surface once to breathe, swim very slowly, about 5 km per hour. In particular, the dugong's nose is located on the top of the head, with the valve closed to prevent water from entering during the dugong dive.

Dugong is a slow-growing species, after 13 months of pregnancy, his mother gave birth to a child. Dugong's newly born child is 1.2m long, weighs 30 kg, breastfeeds continuously for 18 months and always swims behind his mother.

Due to its slow fertility and long life span, it is in great danger of extinction. In addition, this species was previously cut and sold for meat so the remaining quantity was very small.