Also known as Sea cows, Dugong are the only mammals in the ocean that are strictly herbivorous.

Dugong - dugon - Photo by Kylie Pawlow

Growing up to 3 metres long and weighing up to 400kg, these large grey mammals are gentle giants. They have to surface to breath, and this is when they are most often sighted.

In Australia, they are found on seagrass beds in warm, tropical areas of Queensland, Northern Territory and north Western Australia.

Some areas between Cairns and Cape Tribulation are suitable feeding grounds, particularly south of Port Douglas, Cow Bay and north of Cape Tribulation where there are seagrass beds and north facing beaches (sheltered from predominant south easterly winds).

Unfortunately, being long lived (over 70 years) and having few young (around three per female), Dugong are susceptible to population decline by hunting, habitat loss and accidental injuries from fishing and boat strikes. The Queensland population has been impacted and sighting a Dugong in the wild is a rare and memorable privilege.

There is much speculation that Dugong, along with their cousins Manatees, are the inspiration for the myth of the Mermaid. The order these belong to, Sirenia, is derived from the sirens of Greek mythology. Sirens were mermaids, that lured lonely sailors to their deaths, on rocky shores.

In addition, the word "dugong" derives from the Tagalog term dugong, which was in turn adopted from the Malay duyung, both meaning "lady of the sea".

You may think a sailor would have to be pretty lonely to mistake a Dugong for a person with a tail, and so would this writer.