FWD: Family of playful dugongs spotted off Kota Belud

[Guest guest]

***************************Advertisement***************************

 

*****************************************************************

This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling.

 

Comment from sender:

 

 

This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

URL:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/7/7/nation/11415493 & sec=nation

 

________________________

 

Thursday July 7, 2005

Family of playful dugongs spotted off Kota Belud

<b>BY RUBEN SARIO</b>

 

KOTA KINABALU: An island near the northern Kota Belud district is attracting

attention since a family of dugongs began making daily appearances and playing

with the village children and divers.

 

The gentle marine mammals, once thought to have disappeared from Sabah & #146;s

west coast, have been spotted almost daily at a particular spot off the island.

 

& #147;They come when they see village children in canoes, & #148; said Samson

Wong, a director of Scuba Paradise Sdn Bhd which takes divers to the area.

 

Wong said he first spotted the dugongs late last year. The male and female,

about 2.4m long and estimated to weigh 400kg each, and the 1.4m-long calf were

initially wary of humans.

 

So he browsed the Internet for information on dugongs and their behaviour, and

applied that knowledge to develop a rapport with the creatures.

 

& #147;I learnt that if the dugongs swim towards you, it & #039;s best to remain

calm. The animals will also be more approachable if there are children around.

That & #146;s why I take the children from nearby kampungs with me when I go out

to sea. & #148;

 

Dugongs also like to play with anything that resembled themselves such as

canoes or pieces of wood, he said.

 

He said the dugongs would appear between 10am and 3pm and preferred to remain

in shallow waters that were about 3m to 5m deep with plenty of sea grass around

for them to graze.

 

Wong said the last time he spotted dugongs at Sabah & #146;s west coast was about

10 years ago while diving near Pulau Gaya here.

 

& #147;Since then I have not seen these animals, & #148; he said, noting that

dugongs were threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

 

In this respect, he said, the daily appearance of the dugongs had enabled him

to create awareness among the villagers on the need to protect these marine

creatures.

 

& #147;I have been telling them that tourists will come from thousands of miles

to see these animals and they could benefit economically by selling souvenirs

and drinks, & #148; Wong added.

 

<p>

 

________________________

Your one-stop information portal:

The Star Online

http://thestar.com.my

http://biz.thestar.com.my

http://classifieds.thestar.com.my

http://cards.thestar.com.my

http://search.thestar.com.my

http://star-motoring.com

http://star-space.com

http://star-jobs.com

http://star-ecentral.com

http://star-techcentral.com

 

1995-2004 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written

permission of Star Publications is prohibited.