Blog Oasis -21.02.2020

Did you know that 16 dugongs have been counted in the area of Marsa Alam? Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are also called sea cow and are the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae. They belong to the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. A dugong can reach up to 60 years of age. The females can give birth every 3-7 years, the pregnancy lasts 13 months. In the past, dugongs have been hunted, nowadays environmental pollution, destruction of the ecosystems and vessel strikes is their biggests threat. At the moment, we have high chances to see a dugong at our divespots Sheikh Malek, Marsa Assalai and Marsa Egla. Thanks for the pictures to Peter Eichmann, Sylvia Chille, Urs Zbinden, Florian Wägele, Michel Chemamedji and Manuela Oeschgl.