Rescued baby dugong in 'critical' condition [video]

A baby dugong (sea cow) named “Binu” was only about a month old when fisherfolk from Brgy. Binulasan in Infanta, Quezon rescued him last January 9. He was wounded and underweight.

 

A week after his rescue, experts said that Binu may not survive, no different than the seven other baby dugongs that have been unsuccessfully saved in the country since 1995.

 

“Posibleng mabuhay ito kung kumakain na ito ng sea grass, but Binu is now on a critical stage, unless, we stabilized him. After surviving the critical six weeks from the date of his rescue, the chances of dying is lesser,” Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines director AA Yaptinchay told reporters in a press conference on Thursday.

 

 

Yaptinchay noted that neonates or baby dugongs aged six months to one year old are much likely to die in captivity than adults.

 

Out of the 50 recorded dugong salvaging internationally, only five sea cows survived in captivity, he cited.

 

“We need to all realize that we are in a serious dilemma. Kailangan i-manage natin ang expectation [on baby Binu],” said Romeo Trono, consultant at Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion project, during the same event.

Critically endangered
 

Since 2004, dugongs have been classified as critically endangered species.

 

“We need to monitor the site where the baby dugong was found. Malaki ang probability na naaksidente ‘yung nanay,” Trono noted, adding that mother sea cows do not let their children out of their site.

 

Baby Binu is currently being cared for at the Manila Ocean Park. He is an isolated area so he can be fed with formula milk every two hours.

 

In the same press conference, Biodiversity Management Bureau (formerly PAWB) director Theresa Mundita-Lim said that the baby dugong, if he survived the critical stage, may only be released when it reaches the age of two years or in 2016, when he can eat sea grass on his own.

 

The neonate will stay with Manila Ocean Park for six week, then authorities will evaluate if it can be transferred to Infanta, Quezon, where he was rescued, to adapt in seawater.

 

“Ngayon medyo naglalaro-laro na siya so that is a good sign, pero mahaba-haba ang tatahakin namin, so, we can eventually release it to its natural habitat,” she said.

 

Dugong conservation in the country is tied with the Pawikan Conservation Program. But unlike sea turtle that lay hundred of eggs, sea cows give birth to calves only once every three to seven years.

 

Unsustainable fishing practices posed as the major challenge against dugongs in the wild, while dwindling number of sea grass beds also posed as a danger to sea cows. Dugongs are grazers eating only sea grass. An adult sea cow may consume about 25 kilos of sea grass (locally called "baryaw-baryaw" or "lusay") daily.

 

New manual and study on dugongs

 

To increase awareness among coastal communities on dugongs and other marine species, the Environment Department will release in March a manual on rescuing marine wildlife.

 

“Our coastal community is our first line of defense on marine conservation that why we need to raise their awareness,” Lim noted, adding that they have signed memorandum of understanding with other countries to exchange information on dugong protection and conservation.

 

All around the world, the sea cows can only be found in 42 countries including the Philippines.

 

“Help us protect them. They are the natural gardeners of the sea. They trim the sea grass bed that release nutrients that enrich lower forms of marine life,” she opined. 

 

Likewise, the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines was also set to produce in March a study on the incidental capture of dugongs in the wild. — TJD, GMA News