RAMANATHAPURAM: A baby dugong was safely rescued from the shores of Thamaraikulam and released into the sea on Wednesday. This is the first time a dugong has been rescued this year in Ramanathapuram range. A sea turtle was also rescued by the forest department in the district on Tuesday.
Jeyakanthan, a resident in the area, found the baby dugong in a dangerous situation. He acted swiftly and pulled it by its tail and directed it into the waters. On Tuesday, a team from the Mandapam wildlife range, which comprised forester Saminathan and Anti-poaching watchers, found a sea turtle caught inside a fishing net.
Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar, wildlife warden of Gulf of Mannar biosphere, told TNIE that the marine national park has 117 species of corals, fish and endangered species, especially dugongs. “The baby dugong was washed ashore due to rough sea. Last year, five dugongs were rescued by the department and fishermen. As far as other species are concerned, the department has rescued seven dolphins and over 85 sea turtles over the course of the year,” he added.
Additional Chief Secretary of Environment Climate Change and Forest, Supriya Sahu said, “Dugongs are critically endangered and found only in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kutch, and Andaman and Nicobar islands. We have notified India’s first ‘Dugong Conservation Reserve’ in Palk Bay covering coastal waters of Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts with an area of 448 square kilometers.
Dugongs are the largest herbivorous marine mammals and live on seagrasses. A survey about seagrass area has been completed and we are working on setting up a dugong conservation centre at Thanjavur, which will be a landmark in conservation efforts. The land for it has been identified and the project will be taken for bidding soon.”