EX EW CR EN VU NT LC O Dugong Dugong dugon The vegetarian dugong has been hunted to the brink of extinction throughout most of its range The future of the species may now rest almost exclusively with the fate of one population living off the coast of Australia Sightings of dugongs and their kind are often said to have given rise to stories of mermaids The large blubbery animals with their huge bristle studded lips and tough gray hide may be far removed from the traditional image of the fabled sea maidens but dugongs are nevertheless graceful gentle and curious animals In areas where they are not persecuted they readily approach divers and small boats apparently attracted by unusual sounds Dugongs have excellent hearing and good eyesight Dugongs also face a number of natural hazards In the past when the animals were common the population could withstand losses from predation by sharks killer whales and estuarine crocodiles It could even recover from local catastrophes such as flooded rivers that dumped thousands of tons of silt over their sea grass pastures causing mass starvation Today with so many dugong populations at the very limit of viability such pressures could mean extinction for the remaining groups The dugong’s alternative name of sea cow is The plight of the African and Asian populations fitting since the animal’s behavior reflects that of the land cow Like its land-dwelling namesake it lives mostly in herds and it feeds on underwater pastures of sea grass It has intelligence similar to a cow or deer and its flesh is reputed to taste much like veal The dugong is the only living species in its family Its closest relative Steller’s sea cow was hunted to extinction over a period of just 27 years during the 18th century Hunting and Natural Hazards At one time dugongs were common around the edges of the Indian and southwestern Pacific Oceans However dugongs make good eating and have other uses They have been hunted for meat their oil and their thick hides which produce good leather Dugongs are mammals so they have to breathe air Consequently when they come up from a dive to breathe at the surface they are easy to catch and kill in nets The dugong has now been brought to the brink of extinction across its range 8 is cause for extreme concern In 1998 it was reported that the last remaining viable population of East African dugongs had probably declined to just 21 individuals barely a sustainable number Around the coasts of Madagascar India Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia the situation is equally critical The dugong is protected by law throughout its range but in many areas the law is difficult to enforce Illegal killing undoubtedly still occurs sometimes by accident sometimes deliberately in order to obtain food hides and body parts for use in traditional medicines and treatments substances derived from the dugong are used as aphrodisiacs Last Stronghold Dugongs once lived around the Australian coast in great herds numbering many thousands of individuals Although such herds are almost certainly a thing of the past groups of several hundred dugongs are still reported off the coast of western Australia However it is the seas between Australia’s northern coast and
DUGONG DATA PANEL Dugong sea cow Dugong dugon Family Dugongidae World population Probably fewer than 150,000 Distribution Indian and southwestern Pacific Oceans Habitat Shallow seas of tropical coasts Size Length head to tail 8 9 ft 2 4 2 7 m occasionally up to 13 ft 4 m Weight 300 800 lb 230 360 kg occasionally up to 2,000 lb 900 kg Form Large superficially seal-like mammal with gray almost hairless hide jointed front flippers and broad flat tail Small eyes and large upper lip with tough bristly pads Diet Mostly sea grasses occasionally green and brown seaweed Breeding Single young rarely twins born every 3 7 years at any time of year after gestation of 13 14 months Young first graze at 3 months fully weaned at 18 months mature at 9 10 years Life span up to 73 years Related endangered species Steller’s sea cow Hydrodamalis gigas EX No close living relatives but 3 species of manatee listed as Vulnerable Amazon manatee Trichechus inunguis Florida manatee T manatus and African manatee T senegalensis Status IUCN VU 9 the island of New Guinea that represent the closest thing the dugong has to a stronghold Here a limited amount of hunting by native Australians and Torres Strait Islanders is still permitted About 1,200 dugongs are killed in the region each year mostly by nets or harpoons Such hunting is strictly monitored because there are fears that even limited kills might be too much It remains to be seen if hunting will result in the same fate for the dugong as it did for Steller’s sea cow extinction The dugong uses its tail for swimming and its flippers for steering and walking along the seabed while it feeds The tail has a distinctive concave trailing edge which helps distinguish the dugong from the similar manatees
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC O Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus goodfellowi One of the few kangaroos living outside Australia Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo of Papua New Guinea is typical of several species that are threatened by hunting and habitat loss as logging and mining operations steadily encroach on their forest home Many people are surprised to learn that there are any kangaroos living as native species outside Australia Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo is one of several that are found across the Torres Straits in Papua New Guinea Like most other marsupials Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo is largely nocturnal It emerges from dense clusters of silkwood trees at dusk and gets around by means of a peculiar rocking hopping gait using both front and back legs The tree-kangaroo does not use its tail as an extra limb to aid balance so it is unable to take long series of bounding hops like its more familiar cousins Relative awkwardness on the ground is the price the animal DATA PANEL Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo ornate tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus goodfellowi Family Macropodidae World population Unknown perhaps only a few hundred Distribution Eastern and central Papua New Guinea Habitat Lowland and montane mountainous rain forest up to about 10,000 ft 3,000 m Size Length head body 21 30 in 55 77 cm tail 27 5 35 in 70 85 cm females up to 20 bigger than males Weight 14 18 lb 6 5 8 kg Form Small slender kangaroo with shorter back legs and longer front legs than terrestrial species fur short and reddish brown fading 10 to creamy-yellow on underside and feet coat marked with 2 pale dorsal stripes and pale rings on tail Diet Leaves and fruit Breeding Single young born at any time of year after 3 5 week gestation incubated in pouch for 10 12 months Lives up to 14 years in captivity Related endangered species Other species of tree-kangaroo including Doria’s tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus dorianus VU Scott’s tree-kangaroo D scottae CR Bennett’s tree-kangaroo D Bennettianus NT Status IUCN EN INDONESIA AUSTRALIA pays for surprising agility in the trees By spending a good deal of their time off the ground tree-kangaroos are relatively safe from predators and able to reach abundant food sources that are inaccessible to their earth-bound relatives The tree-kangaroos unusual lifestyle made them very successful in the past when their forest home extended from the highlands of eastern and central Papua New Guinea where they are now found down to sea level The main factor controlling the population was the weather which is extemely variable in this part of the tropics The tree-kangaroos coped by having a variable reproductive rate The females do not tend to breed when conditions are poor However since they are not tied to a particular breeding season they are able to raise one baby every 10 or 11 months in a run of good years Although unusual Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo is nevertheless a fairly successful mammal species As recently as the 1960s before guns became widespread in Papua New Guinea it was hunted using dogs and spears or arrows Such traditional hunting took its toll but had little effect on the total population The rarity of tree-kangaroos today is a result of more recent developments PAPUA NEW GUINEA New Guinea Changing Landscape The landscape of Papua New Guinea has changed dramatically in recent decades Much of the lowland rain forest has already been cleared and logging activities are now encroaching on the highlands too Papua New
GOODFELLOW’S TREE-KANGAROO Guinea is also rich in mineral reserves and huge mining and oil-extraction operations have added to the devastation The settlements that spring up around the mining and logging industries mean that more land has to be cleared to grow crops to feed the people Tree-kangaroos Tree-kangaroos have always been prized for their meat and with new roads and settlements appearing throughout the forest more colonies are vulnerable to hunting than ever before In some places tree-kangaroos have taken to eating cereal crops planted alongside their forest habitat giving hunters an excuse to kill yet more of an increasingly endangered species Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo has been wiped out of the areas surrounding even very small settlements in a short space of time With logging and mining constantly eating away at the edge of the forest the species range is shrinking fast Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo does not look or act much like the kangaroos and wallabies of Australia It has traded the convenience of a hopping lifestyle for the security and plentiful food resources available in the trees Tree-kangaroos do have some refuges in national parks and appear to be doing well in areas where they and their habitat are properly protected The simple answer to the tree-kangaroo’s problems would be to designate large areas of forest as protected land However much of the real power in Papua New Guinea lies not with the government but with the multinational corporations exploiting the country’s mineral and timber resources For such organizations conservation of a little-known marsupial is not a priority 11
