Dugong: Animal that inspired mermaid tales extinct in China

[UngulateNerd92]

Researchers have declared a mammal related to the manatee - said to have inspired ancient tales of mermaids and sirens - extinct in China.

Only three people surveyed from coastal communities in China reported seeing the dugong in the past five years.

Known as the ocean's most gentle giant, the dugong's slow, relaxed behaviour is likely to have made it vulnerable to overfishing and shipping accidents.

It still exists elsewhere in the world but is facing similar threats.

Prof Samuel Turvey, from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), who co-authored the research study, said: "The likely disappearance of the dugong in China is a devastating loss."

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62638485.amp

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is a another relevant article.

Gentle giants of the sea now extinct in China

New research shows that the Dugong - also known as the ‘sea cow’ - is functionally extinct in China, with no sightings recorded since 2008

New research led by ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has led researchers to declare that one of the ocean’s most gentle giants, the dugong (Dugong dugon), is now functionally extinct in China.

Threatened around the world by human activities such as fishing, ship strikes and human-caused habitat loss; records of dugongs in Chinese waters have decreased rapidly from the 1970s onwards.

With no records or evidence of their presence at all in China since 2008, this latest research shows strong indications that this is the first functional extinction of a large mammal in China’s coastal waters.

Gentle giants of the sea now extinct in China