20th April 1997

In this conclusion of a two-part article, Richard Boyle continues to explore the indestructible legend of the mermaid, its association with Sri Lanka, and the mysterious dugong of the Gulf of Mannar which appears to have spawned the legend.

(Part I): Hear the mermaid's music

Sirenia, the mammalian order to which the dugong belongs, consists of three species. One species, the Steller's sea-cow, has already disappeared from the face of the earth. This creature was abundant when first discovered in 1741 in the Bering Sea of the Northern Pacific, but was completely exterminated by Russian hunters just 30 years later. The Steller's sea-cow was enormous, growing to a length of about 7.5 metres and weighing around 4 tons. Significantly, it was the only species adapted to cold water. There remains, today - albeit teetering on the verge of extinction - the manatee of the North and South American shores of the Atlantic, and the dugong.

Remarkably, the range of the non-migratory dugong once extended from the Red Sea, Arabian coast, and the east coast of Africa in the west; to the Solomon, Marshall and New Caledonian groups of islands, and Australia, in the east. In between, it was also found in the Indian Ocean region, not only in the Gulf of Mannar, but along the south coast of India and the Andaman Islands as well. Today it is confined in exceedingly small numbers to severely restricted areas in the lesser Indo-Pacific region, including the Gulf of Mannar.

However it appears that the dugong was found formerly on the east coast of the island, for Hugh Nevill wrote in 1885 that, 'Off Batticaloa it is reported by fishermen to live permanently towards Vandeloos Bay, and it is occasionally caught in the outlet of the Batticaloa Lake. I have known stray specimens to be caught about Dondra and Matara'.

Despite its former range, there is, according to zoologists, only one species of dugong, which is known by the entirely appropriate name of Dugong Dugong. "Dugong" comes from the Malay word for the animal, "duyong". In the island of Sri Lanka it is commonly referred to as sea-pig. The Sinhalese word for it is Muda Ura and in Tamil it is known as Kadel Pardi or Auuriya.

The severe reduction in the range of the dugong, as well as its uncertain survival as a species, is due mainly to its extreme vulnerability. Being a slow-moving vegetarian that prefers localised habitats in shallow waters around bays and inlets, and with no means of defence, the dugong is a victim of pollution, accidental netting, and indiscriminate fishing.

In addition, the clear, limpid oil obtained from the dugong has a high value as a medicine, and as a result commercial exploitation, especially in the Pacific region during the last century, led to a drastic reduction in numbers there. The dugong of the Red Sea, on the other hand, was decimated because its skin provided the best quality of soles for sandals. And the people of the Torres Straits were in the habit of using many dugong skulls and ribs to decorate their huts. Furthermore, the dugong is disadvantaged by being a slow breeder, because only one calf is usually born at a time, gestation takes 11 months and the suckling of its young is a lengthy process.

The killing of a dugong: a ghastly experience

Apart from these factors, there is of course another reason why the dugong is no longer found in large numbers in the Gulf of Mannar. Unfortunately, the flesh of the dugong like that of its marine mammal cousin the dolphin, is relished by certain sections of the population of Sri Lanka. Dugong flesh is supposed to have a porklike flavour, although Europeans have in the past described it as being similar to veal. The killing of dugongs for consumption in Sri Lanka is a situation which led Rodney Jonklaas to remark passionately some years ago: 'In this fair land where crows and rabid dogs are protected by so- called animal-loving people, the dugongs, like the deer, are hunted ruthlessly to swell the pockets of Mudalalis and fill the bellies of pilgrims to Madhu'.

The introduction of nylon gill-nets has also led to a dramatic increase in the number of dugong caught accidentally and drowned in the Gulf of Mannar. Often dugongs would tear or stretch more traditional nets in which they became enmeshed and escape, but with nylon nets this is not so easy. However, there is one big difference between the dolphin and the dugong, especially where fishermen are concerned. Unlike the dolphin, the dugong does not eat fish or damage nets in the process.

'When a dugong is enmeshed in the folds of a gill-net, which is set in the evening for sharks and turtles and collected the next morning, it is either drowned, or kept helpless till the netmen arrive', states Jonklaas. 'If it can struggle to the surface to breathe it lives, but the fishermen either harpoon it or take it alive, plug its nostrils with wooden plugs and let it die a slow death of suffocation. Or it is taken alive in the hot sun, its skin blistering and eyes tearing in agony, till someone offers to buy it, thereupon it is butchered without the slightest thought for its suffering'.

Jonklaas also rightly pointed out that, 'Humane butchery is not exactly a virtue of our fishermen and the dugong, by far the most harmless and sensitive mammal of the sea, comes in for less consideration than a lobster.' This theme was echoed by Peter van Reyk, who wrote emotively: 'Have you ever watched them kill a dugong? Many people feed on dugong and its end is one of the most ghastly experiences for any person with a measure of feeling.'

Van Reyk, obviously a person with much feeling, had such an experience one day in a little seaside village near Mannar. 'An excited crowd attracted my attention. The object of their interest was a dugong, which lay gasping on shore with great tears welling out of its eyes' (It is interesting to note that the dugong is one of the few mammals other than humans to shed tears - R.B.) 'Someone pushed excitedly past me and snapped a few words to the fisherman who had caught the unfortunate beast. The dugong was thereupon butchered and chopped up for easy handling and I could almost see the man who bought it gorging himself on the flesh. Perhaps to him the dugong was just another form of food...'

Understanding the threat to the survival of the species in the Gulf of Mannar, dedicated conservationists such as Hilary Cruz, R.L. Spittel and Rodney Jonklaas, pleaded for the case of the dugong as far back as the late 1950s. Rodney Jonklaas suggested the establishment of a marine sanctuary and a dugong farm as a means of study, protection and possibly even revenue: 'To construct a dugong farm in, say, Kalpitiya would be a simple task and a worthwhile one. There is still a great deal to be learnt about dugongs and it may be that in the future, a dugong farm providing specimens for sale and introduction to other parts of the world will be a paying proposition'.

R.L. Spittel concurred wholeheartedly, pointing out that even if the dugong was declared a protected species throughout the island, enforcing the law would be so difficult that it would make more sense to create a sanctuary for them in the Gulf of Mannar: 'It would considerably enhance the attractiveness of Wilpattu, especially if, as Rodney Jonklaas suggests, some specimens of the rare mammal, hardly ever seen by the public, are confined in an aquatic corral'. Spittel ended by posing the sober question, 'Is this a vision or a waking dream? 'little knowing the hampering winds of war that would sweep over the Gulf.

In 1962 the Wild Life Department launched a campaign to save the dugong after an appeal was made to the Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, by the Chairman of the Survival Service Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, C.L. Boyle. However, the Department was severely hindered by the fact that the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance of 1937 covered land animals only. Indeed it was not until 1993 that marine mammals such as dugongs and dolphins were given protection under the Ordinance.

However, as Spittel realised over 35 years ago, legislation is not enough. The plain fact is that it is extremely difficult to implement the law, as a dawn visit to a number of fishing villages will prove. Many boats return to port with at least one dead dolphin, and though like the dugong, it is also illegal to kill dolphins and trade in their flesh, it is common to see 6 or more lined up on the quayside for auction, ultimately to be sold as 'fish' or, ironically, 'sea-pig', to unsuspecting consumers. If it were more plentiful the same exploitation would no doubt happen to the dugong. Educating fishermen regarding the difference between fish and marine mammals such as dolphins and dugongs may be the best way of countering this alarming trend.

Although it has given rise to the legend of the mermaid, the dugong is in reality a rather awkward- looking and ugly animal, with its large bulging eyes, hippopotamus-type face, and flabby whale-like body. In the Gulf of Mannar they have been known to reach a length of over 5 metres. Their forelimbs have been modified into flippers, as in whales and dolphins, and the tail is horizontally flattened, rudder-like organ.

"Elephant Bill" Williams, in his account of the capture of a female dugong, reveals the conflicting feelings of anthropomorphism and revulsion that a close-up view of the animal produces. 'I fished blindly with the hook hidden in the weed,' he writes. 'Then as I felt contact I pulled. She did not struggle. She gave herself calmly as if wishing to leave the sea. As she rolled over, the boat-hook slipped. But given this freedom, she did not dart away.'

Williams continues: 'She lay on her back, just below the surface, showing on her chest a pair of small breasts like inverted teacups. Of her face all I could see was a turned up nose, revealing large nostrils, and a sensuous and quite human mouth. I was very careful this time to reach her where she could not be disfigured, partly because her resemblance to a woman made me feel that it was almost wrong to capture her at all and partly because she was so helpless and lacking in fight'.

However, his empathy with the female dugong was to end abruptly 'I drew her alongside gently until looking directly downwards, I could see her clearly without refraction. It was like waking from a lovely dream into a day-mare. The resemblance to a woman did not disappear, but it became a travesty of the human animal, the hideous revelation of the beast in man. She stared senselessly at me with the close set eyes of a pig. Out of her snout were growing hairy brushes. The only thing about her that was not revolting was the long tail with its crescent shaped tips'.

It is of interest to note in the context of Sri Lanka's terrestrial mammals that the dugong shares a common ancestry with certain primitive elephants of the Tertiary Age. Discovering a vast supply of food in the rich aquatic vegetation of lakes and rivers, these elephants eventually forsook the land and colonised the shallow coastal waters. Indeed the occurence of the dugong in the Gulf of Mannar coincides almost exactly with the underwater pastures of sea grasses of the genus Cymodocea that are its main source of food.

The dugong appears to uproot the grass with its mouth, and then frees it of sand and small animals by combined movements of head and flippers. Only when this has been achieved does the dugong proceed to eat. Dugong dentition consists of incisors and grinding teeth which succeed each other much as in elephants and in keeping with a vegetarian diet. The male has a pair of tusk-like upper incisors - another feature reminiscent of elephants.

In 1699 the buccaneer William Dampier discovered a bay on the west coast of Australia and named it Shark Bay because he was convinced it was inhabited by sharks. The reason for his conviction was to be found in the jaw of one of the creatures he caught, 'out of which we pluckt a great many Teeth, 2 of them 8 inches long, and as big as a Man's Thumb, small at one end and a little crooked; the rest not above half so long'. In actual fact Dampier was describing a dugong....

'In the wild state it is almost certain that dugongs feed mainly by night, especially in areas where there is human interference with their activities. During the day the dugong remains some distance out at sea, resting and keeping a watchful open eye for danger. However, it is unlikely that they venture beyond a depth of 8 fathoms, and are normally encountered in from 2-6 fathoms of water. They also endeavour to keep clear of waters that are too shallow, for fear of being stranded by the ebb tide.

The shy dugong leads a mostly solitary existence except when mating or suckling its young. Reports from fishermen (who are the principal source of sightings) indicate that dugongs are almost always found singly, rarely in pairs, and only occasionally suckling a calf. And unlike whales and dolphins they never herd or travel in packs.

Another reason why dugongs are seldom seen is that they breathe through their nostrils, and so perfectly located are these openings that no other part of either the head or body breaks the surface of the water when a surreptitious breath is taken. As the animal dives, the nostrils are closed off automatically by a valvular flap of skin. The dugong can remain submerged and absolutely motionless for upwards of 5 minutes. In this way too it manages to escape detection and observation, especially as very few air bubbles are released that could reveal its whereabouts.

When Sri Lanka's mammals are under discussion, it is inevitable that familiar terrestrials, such as the elephant, come most readily to mind. But let us not forget the elephant's marine counterpart and distant ancestor, the dugong, which has always lived in the seas around the island. For often, where marine mammals are concerned, the dugong was marginalised by the better-known whale and dolphin.

The inoffensive and sensitive dugong is in special need of protection. Every effort has to be made to ensure that it does not become extinct in Sri Lankan waters, for the island cannot afford to lose an animal that has provided such zoological romance and mystery. As Hilary Cruz once wrote, 'We must preserve our mermaids. It is not at all chivalrous to assist in their extinction, merely because science has shown them to be neither half-woman nor half fish!'

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