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Conservationalist
The dugong, a close relative of the manatee, is a threatened species, and some populations are endangered. The dugong is not, however, extinct. A similar animal was hunted to extinction in the 18th century, but for now the dugong is alive and well. On the IUCN scale they are put in the VU (vulnerable) category
Dugongs are threatened by sea grass habitat loss or degradation because of coastal development or industrial activities that cause water pollution. If there is not enough sea grass to eat then the dugong does not breed normally. This makes the conservation of their shallow water marine habitat very important. They also often become victims of bycatch, the accidental entanglement in fishing nets .They have also being poached in India over the belief that dugongs carried boxes of money in their stomach
Dugongs have become an important tourist attraction. Tourists can swim with them or observe them from boats. Dugong play an important ecological role in coastal marine ecosystems, and the status of dugong populations in an area can be used as an indicator of general ecosystem health
In Australia, dugongs are protected under the Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act), which lists them as marine and migratory species, and various State and Northern Territory legislation.
There are only about 85,000 dugongs left in the world
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