India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve notified in Tamil Nadu

Category : National Published on: September 24 2022

Share on facebook

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday notified the country’s first ‘Dugong Conservation Reserve’ in Palk Bay covering the coastal waters of Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts with an area of 448 square kilometers.
Dugongs are the largest herbivorous marine mammals in the world thriving primarily on seagrass beds, a major carbon sink of the oceans.
Dugongs are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. However, their population is on the decline due to habitat loss.
There are only about 240 individuals estimated to be present in the country and the majority is found in Tamil Nadu coast (Palk Bay).