Team saves young dugong tangled in belt
Wildlife officials praised a team effort that rescued a young dugong trapped by a fanbelt near Western Australia.
The vulnerable marine mammal was spotted struggling near Exmouth while flat fishers worked the nearby tidal estuary waters carefully. Roughly two metres long, the animal required fifteen responders to free it from the dangerous cargo net.
Acting coordinator Sam Miles said even small dugongs can weigh several hundred kilograms when trapped in such difficult entanglement situations. Experts from Perth Zoo and the Sea World Foundation provided advice before the group restrained the creature.
Rescuers wrapped the animal named Wapi in a net and hoisted it over shallow water to return it. The team moved quickly to get the marine mammal back into the sea after assessing its health condition before release. The group cut the fanbelt to free the animal completely.
Mr Miles stated that this successful rescue helped the overall population in the Exmouth Gulf where dugongs are under pressure. A recent marine heatwave devastated local seagrass stocks which serve as the primary food source for these gentle marine mammals in the region.
“Australia's unquestionably the dugong capital of the world”