Sunday Times 2
The sad plight of the dugong: Wildlife & Nature Protection Society’s lecture
View(s):There is a mammal of Sri Lanka that can weigh up to 900Kg and grow to 3 meters in length, yet one that is rarely seen and whose local population teeters on the edge of extinction. In fact, records indicate that herds in their hundreds once swam off the North Western shores of the island. Today, we only know of them from an occasional report of a fisherman, or when their tortured bodies are dragged in with a day’s catch. Hunted unmercifully, over the centuries, and referred to as a mudha ura in Sinhala / kadal pandi in Tamil, the dugong has been persecuted, neglected and ignored and is about to disappear forever!
The Wildlife & Nature Protection Society’s monthly lecture will have Dr. Steve Creech talk of the endangered dugong on June 21 at the Lotus Hall BMICH at 6 pm. The lecture is open to all members and non-members free of charge.
Dr. Steve Creech is a marine biologist, fishery scientist, activist and Director of pelagikos, an organization set up to provide administrative, management and technical services to the Seafood Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka.