WhenToDive
Sirenian · 🦦

Dugong

Dugong dugon

The dugong is the ocean's only fully marine herbivorous mammal — the "sea cow" of Indo-Pacific seagrass meadows. Dugongs look superficially like manatees but have a forked, dolphin-like tail and a more rounded snout. Populations are shy and widely dispersed, but a handful of locations have reliable resident or visiting animals: Marsa Alam (Abu Dabbab) in Egypt, Dimakya Island in the Philippines, parts of Palau, and Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. Encounters are typically on snorkel in shallow seagrass beds. Giving the animal space is essential; dugongs spook easily and a spooked dugong is a dugong that will not come back.

The dugong is the ocean's only fully marine herbivorous mammal — the "sea cow" of Indo-Pacific seagrass meadows. Dugongs look superficially like manatees but have a forked, dolphin-like tail and a more rounded snout. Populations are shy and widely dispersed, but a handful of locations have reliable resident or visiting animals: Marsa Alam (Abu Dabbab) in Egypt, Dimakya Island in the Philippines, parts of Palau, and Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. Encounters are typically on snorkel in shallow seagrass beds. Giving the animal space is essential; dugongs spook easily and a spooked dugong is a dugong that will not come back.

The year at a glance

Global aggregated reliability — at any given month, how reliably can you find this species somewhere in the world?

Score 1–5 · global aggregated reliability Rare Moderate Reliable

Where to see them in April

Sorted by April reliability and species status.

  1. 01

    Marsa Alam

    Egypt · red sea · peak
    5/5
  2. 02

    Ningaloo

    Australia · pacific · present
    5/5

Full season breakdown

Peak Present Rare

Destination
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Notes
Marsa Alam
Resident dugongs at Abu Dabbab seagrass bay; snorkel
Ningaloo
Occasional sightings in seagrass beds