A dugong is a large, gentle marine mammal that lives in warm coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, grazing on seagrass in shallow bays and lagoons. Dugongs look somewhat like manatees, with paddle-like flippers, a rounded body, and a flat tail shaped like a whale's fluke. They can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh around 800 pounds.

Unlike whales and dolphins, which hunt fish, dugongs are vegetarian. They spend their days peacefully munching on underwater meadows of seagrass, earning them the nickname “sea cows.” A single dugong can eat over 80 pounds of seagrass in one day! They use their flexible upper lips to grab the grass, leaving distinctive feeding trails along the ocean floor.

Sailors in ancient times might have mistaken dugongs for mermaids when seeing them from a distance, though up close there's little resemblance. Today, dugongs are vulnerable to extinction because they reproduce slowly (a female dugong has only one calf every few years) and because their seagrass habitats are threatened by coastal development and pollution. In some cultures, particularly in northern Australia, dugongs hold special spiritual significance and are protected by conservation laws.