How to Use dugong in a Sentence

dugong

noun
  • Last year a record number of dead dugongs were found in Thai waters.
    USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2020
  • The dugong, dubbed Yamil, died Thursday during surgery to have the seagrass removed.
    Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2019
  • An orchid, a baobab tree, a dugong, an orangutan, even at some future point the trace lines of a mycelial network––all of these should hold money.
    J.m. Ledgard, Wired, 12 May 2021
  • Sharks, whales, rays, turtles, dolphins, and even the rare dugong swim these stunning seas alongside 2,000 fish species.
    Melanie Van Zyl, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2021
  • The last remaining dugong live in the very bay where the United States is developing its new base.
    Daniel Wolfe, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
  • This year, the union is sounding the alarm about the dugong — a large and docile marine mammal that lives from the eastern coast of Africa to the western Pacific Ocean.
    Patrick Whittle, ajc, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Lucky travelers might even catch a glimpse of the resident dugongs or sea turtles.
    Eric Rosen, National Geographic, 21 May 2019
  • The four-month-old Marium shot to fame in April, when adorable photos of the dugong hugging her vets went viral online.
    Eric Todisco, PEOPLE.com, 19 Aug. 2019
  • Take a ride on a dhow, a traditional African fishing boat, or ask your lodge to take you dugong (a rare sea cow) spotting.
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Keep an eye out for dugong, a docile—but easily started—sea cow that delirious sailors of yore took for mermaids.
    WSJ, 20 Oct. 2017
  • The dugong, one of four species of sea cow in the order Sirenia, live throughout shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific.
    John Pickrell, National Geographic, 31 May 2017
  • Snorkel in the hopes of seeing a rare dugong, India’s version of a manatee, but stay content with the rays and turtles that are more likely.
    Ella Riley-Adams, Vogue, 4 Jan. 2019
  • The dugong is a species of marine mammal similar to the American manatee and can grow to about 3.4 meters (11 feet) in length.
    Fox News, 15 June 2019
  • This French territory, in the heart of the Coral Sea, is home to more than 9,300 marine species, including dugongs, manta rays, and venomous sea snakes.
    BostonGlobe.com, 1 Dec. 2019
  • The dugong is a strictly herbivorous marine mammal – the only of its kind.
    Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2022
  • The dugong was first designated for protection by the Chinese State Council in 1988.
    Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Experts believe only 250 dugongs are left in Thai waters.
    Busaba Sivasomboon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • Some believe the dugong is the inspiration for ancient seafaring tales of mermaids and sirens.
    Reuters, NBC News, 24 Aug. 2022
  • Thon Thamrongnawasawat said on his Facebook page that the carcass of a dugong was found Tuesday off the southern province of Krabi.
    Busaba Sivasomboon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • Eventually, word of Marium, the dugong, got out, and photos of her went viral in Thailand.
    Aj Willingham, CNN, 10 Aug. 2019
  • Though China has made seagrass restoration a top priority, those efforts couldn’t save the dugong.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Aug. 2022
  • For example, contributors to Eye on the Reef are more likely to record the spectacular (whale sharks, dugongs and humpback whales) than the common (starfish).
    Jessica Wynne Lockhart, Smithsonian, 17 Oct. 2019
  • Last week, she was found bruised after being chased and supposedly attacked by a male dugong during the mating season.
    Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2019
  • The remains were initially believed to belong to a manatee or a dugong, but a team from the municipal office of Cagdianao says the remains came from a whale that had been dead for two weeks.
    Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, 27 Feb. 2017
  • Japanese officials said in 2012 the project would have no negative effect on the dugong, and U.S. officials reached the same conclusion two years later.
    Sudhin Thanawala, The Seattle Times, 21 Aug. 2017
  • Even so, only the luckiest Bazaruto divers will ever spot a dugong — often from a distance of several meters — drifting alone or in pairs.
    Michael Snyder, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2022
  • The archipelago is also home to around 4,000 shy endangered dugongs, a species that feeds on seagrass beds and plays an important role in the overall ecosystem, and at certain times of year, whale sharks can be found here.
    Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 26 June 2023
  • Notable species have been declared extinct, including the Chinese dugong, the Chinese paddlefish and Yangtze sturgeon, and the white-handed gibbon.
    Vanessa Hull, The Conversation, 29 Nov. 2022
  • All of this has created a region where wildlife thrives, including sharks and rays, crocodiles, dugongs, and in-shore dolphin populations.
    Anne Casselman, National Geographic, 18 Apr. 2019
  • Despite experts’ best efforts, the young dugong died early Saturday morning.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, 19 Aug. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dugong.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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