Other Mammals • Wildlife

Dugong

True Sirens of the Sea

© AdobeStock-b neeser

A close relative to the manatee, dugongs are thought by some to be the motivation of seafaring tales of mermaids with their shapely bodies and fluked tails. In fact, they belong to the classification order Sirenia. Dugongs are the only strictly herbivorous marine mammals in the world and can be found all throughout the southern hemisphere, encompassing 40 countries and territories within the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

These gentle giants can grow up to 13 feet long and spend day and night grazing underwater grass. Because they are slow swimmers and prefer to stay in shallower waters, dugongs are relatively easy to encounter while scuba diving. However, after centuries of over-hunting for their meat, oil, skin, and bones, they are vulnerable to extinction. Numbers struggle to rebound, even after making them a legally protected species within most of their range. If you want to dive with dugongs, explore the map below to see all the best dive spots where they live.

Popular dive sites

Dugong Watch

Dugong Watch

348 Logged dives • 215 Sightings It takes about two hours by car from Coron to the village of Quezon, north of Buanga Island, where it takes about an hour to get to the northwest beach of Karawite Island. Around Calauit, north of Buanga Island, a thin 10m deep coral reef is covered with coral sand, and many water plants are growing in this coral.
Philippines
Sheik Malek

Sheik Malek

409 Logged dives • 50 Sightings Seagrass meadow with many beautifully overgrown coral blocks. The entrance is via the reef top.
Egypt
Nilson Reef

Nilson Reef

222 Logged dives • 18 Sightings In only 6 min by speedboat you reach the small, but fine, reef. The upper edge of these coral blocks is between 2-3m below the surface and drops to 10m in the south, and 15m in the north.
Egypt
Aquarium - Neil

Aquarium - Neil

668 Logged dives • 42 Sightings A festive theme park composed of patch reefs, hard corals, and shallow waters is a relaxing site for divers to chill and observe beautiful aquatic organisms. The exciting array of rocky patches at the bottom holds a network of colorful corals and reef fish complementing each other in perfect sync.
India
Umm El Ros/Marsa Mubarak

Umm El Ros/Marsa Mubarak

6824 Logged dives • 409 Sightings Umm El Ros is one of the most well known dive sites in the port Ghalib area and only a 15 minute ride away from the marina. A natural bay formation keeps this site protected. A beautiful dive can be conducted from 1m depth through a sandy bottom to the northern reef or to the southern pinnacles.
Egypt