From: imbibe@mindspring.com   
      
   Dugong: Animal that inspired mermaid tales extinct in China   
   By Esme Stallard, 8/23/2022, BBC News    
      
   The dugong is a unique character of the sea. Weighing in at almost half a ton,   
   it's the only vegetarian marine mammal.   
      
   Similar in appearance and behaviour to the manatee, but distinguished by its   
   whale-like tail, its gentle - seemingly benign - disposition has led some to   
   believe that it inspired ancient seafaring tales of mermaids.   
      
   Sadly, its habitat close to shore in China left it vulnerable to hunters in   
   the 20th Century who sought the animal for its skin, bones and meat.   
      
   After a notable decline in population, dugongs were classified as a grade-one   
   national key protected animal by the Chinese State Council in 1988.   
      
   But researchers believe that the continuing destruction of its habitat -   
   including a lack of seagrass beds for feed - has caused a "rapid population   
   collapse".   
      
   The UN Environment Program estimates that 7% of seagrass habitat is being lost   
   globally every year because of industrial and agricultural pollution, coastal   
   development, unregulated fishing and climate change.   
      
   Prof Turvey said its extinction in China should act as a warning to other   
   regions that house dugongs - including Australia and East Africa - calling it   
   "a sobering reminder that extinctions can occur before effective conservation   
   actions are developed".   
      
   The species is found in 37 other tropical regions in the world - in particular   
   the shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans - but is   
   classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union for the Conservation of   
   Nature's (IUCN) red    
   list of threatened species.   
      
   Countries are currently meeting in New York to sign a new UN marine treaty   
   which would put 30% of the world's oceans in protected areas.   
      
   Kristina Gjerde, high-seas policy adviser for the IUCN, told the BBC: "The   
   dugong is a sad example of what is happening to the marine environment where   
   there is increasing encroachment of human activities."   
      
   https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62638485   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)