Dead ‘dugong’ beaches in Sarangani town

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 20 Aug) — A dugong, commonly known as sea cow, was found dead along the coast of the municipality of Glan in Sarangani province.

Responders lay down the dead dugong at the Marine Wildlife Rescue Center in Alabel, Sarangani on 15 August 2025. Photo courtesy of DENR-12 / PAMO-SBPS

Dr. Roy Mejorada, science research specialist and in-house veterinarian of the Protected Area Management Office – Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (PAMO-SBPS), said the cause of death of the mammal is still being determined.

“Based on our necropsy, the dugong was healthy before it died. There are no wounds or lesions in its body,” he said in Filipino in a phone interview on Wednesday.

The internal organs of the Dugong (scientific name: Dugong dugon) were intact although it contained small nylon strands, which Mejorada ruled out as the major cause of the dugong’s death.

Parasites were also found on the dugong that is “just normal” among marine wildlife, he said.

Mejorada said that tissue samples were taken from the dead dugong for further examination by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to determine its actual cause of death.

He added that they already notified the BFAR to collect the tissue samples of the dead mammal from the Marine Wildlife Rescue Center (MWRC) in Alabel, the capital of Sarangani.

The dead dugong beached in the shores of Barangay Burias last August 14 but was retrieved the following day due to big waves.

The 400-kilogram dugong was brought to the MWRC where the necropsy was conducted.

Members of the PAMO-SBPS, Philippine Coast Guard, Barangay Burias officials and villagers helped retrieve the dead mammal.

Mejorada said they deployed a drone in the waters where the dead dugong was found and that they did not find any other dugongs swimming in the vicinity at the time.

The dead dugong was found along the coast of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, which straddles 215,950 hectares of sea waters in Sarangani province and General Santos City.

Dugongs are herbivores and reliant on seagrass for food. It is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

In Administrative Order No. 2019-09 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, dugongs are considered critically endangered species.

Mejorada called on the public to help protect dugongs as they are major indicators of a healthy marine ecosystem. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)