Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?
The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have gone
TL;DR
- Theerasak Saksritawee (Pop) regularly monitors dugongs, including the last one named Miracle, in Tang Khen Bay, Thailand.
- The dugong population along Thailand's Andaman Coast is in decline, with a significant increase in strandings reported.
- A mass die-off of seagrass, crucial for dugong survival, has occurred, particularly near Trang province.
- The causes of the seagrass die-off are unclear but may be a combination of factors including pollution, silt, warmer seas, and altered tidal cycles, potentially exacerbated by climate change.
- Dugongs have migrated to areas like Phuket, a tourism hotspot, creating new challenges for their protection.
- Local efforts, alongside scientific investigations and potential government interventions, are underway to protect the remaining dugongs.