Tanzania's Sea Cows Vanishing, UNEP, WWF Warn, dugongs, fishing nets, animal conservation

Tanzania's Sea Cows Vanishing, UNEP, WWF Warn
Thursday, July 31, 2003

A rare aquatic mammal related to the manatee is rapidly vanishing from Tanzania, one of its few remaining habitats, according to a report released Monday by the U.N. Environment Program and the World Wildlife Fund.

Fewer than 100 dugongs, also known as sea cows, are thought to live in the warm shallows off the coast. That figure is so low scientists doubt they can save the Tanzanian population, according to Associated Press. Local fisherman have only spotted 32 of them since January, most of them already dead after having been entangled in fishing nets.

"It is clear that dugongs are now critically endangered in Tanzania, and without immediate concerted conservation effort, they will almost certainly become nationally extinct in the near future," said the report, which advocated setting up sanctuaries and educating fishermen about the animals.

The dugong, whose closest living relative is the elephant, has already disappeared from many habitats in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. It was once thought to have been the inspiration for the mythical figure of the mermaid (George Mwangi, AP, July 30).