A giant, gentle sea creature that belongs to the manatee family is now “functionally extinct” in China with no sightings recorded since 2008, a new study said Wednesday.
Wednesday in Britain’s Royal Society of Open Science. In a press release announcing the findings, the report’s authors said there are “strong indications that this is the first functional extinction of a large mammal in China’s coastal waters,” where they have been spotted for hundreds of years.
The authors recommended that the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which keeps a global conservation “reassess the dugong species’ regional status as critically endangered across the entirety of Chinese waters. Fishing, ship strikes and human-caused habitat loss were the main drivers of extinction, the authors said. Sea grass is a specific marine habitat that is being “rapidly degraded by human impacts,” according to the release.
China has made sea-grass restoration and recovery efforts “a key conservation priority,” but the researchers say the efforts may be too little too late.“Dugongs stay in waters up to 10 meters and are constantly grazing,” said Heidi Ma, a postdoctoral researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and co-author of the report.
Since 1988, China has classified the dugong as a “Grade 1 National Key Protected Animal,” a designation that technically affords it the highest level of protection.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The dugong, a gentle giant also known as a 'sea cow,' has disappeared from China, researchers sayThe gentle giant hasn't had a presence at all in China since 2008 and the latest research shows 'strong indications that this is the first functional extinction of a large mammal in China's coastal waters.'
Read more »
Lebanon submarine finds bodies of 10 drowned refugeesApril sinking was the greatest refugee tragedy for Lebanon, which pulled 48 survivors from the Mediterranean Sea, recovered 10 bodies and declared 30 others drowned.
Read more »
Brooklyn back-to-school bash offers free wellness checks, dental screenings and moreBooths were set up to provide wellness check-ins with doctors, dental screenings and backpack giveaways.
Read more »
'Merciless' sea monster with broken teeth prowled the seas 66 million years agoThe giant mosasaur is called Thalassotitan atrox.
Read more »