Diving with a Dugong

3Nov 0

The Dugong is a very special animal to see. From the front, it has a sort of vacuum-cleaner-like snout, while from the back, it sports a dolphin-like tail. Its front limbs have evolved into flippers. The Dugong has adapted to the “sea cow model” and belongs to the Sirenia order, which also includes manatees. These animals are thought to once have been mistaken for attractive mermaids by desperate sailors whose perception of female beauty was somewhat impaired by their long sea voyages. In Mexico, I already saw a West Indian Manatee. However, the Dugong was entirely new to me.

In Timor-Leste, I had the chance to see him. In October and November 2024, I traveled to East Timor to photograph Blue Whales underwater. A link to that story can be found at the bottom of this page.

From Dili, where I stayed, two “resident” Dugongs were known to be regularly seen in the same locations. Dugong Debbie was a female often spotted near a beach close to Dili. Debbie was said to almost always be present but was quite shy. Dugong Sandy was a male and occasionally seen at a beach about 45 minutes’ drive from Dili. If Sandy was around, you could enjoy his presence for a long time, but his appearance was by no means guaranteed.

On my very first day on the island, I had the opportunity to see Debbie, but unfortunately, underwater visibility was too poor due to an unfavorable current. After that, I spent several days on the boat searching for Blue Whales, leaving no time to specifically look for Dugongs. However, this didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance to see one. On some days, when not much was happening on the water, we would snorkel near Debbie or Sandy’s spots in hopes of encountering them. Unfortunately, those attempts were unsuccessful. The coral was always a treat though.

The day after my “Blue Whale Tour” ended, I went scuba diving with others. We visited a dive site called “Anemone City” due to the abundant sea anemones found there. The name was fitting, as the area was indeed carpeted with sea anemones.

Sea anemones and clownfish

It was a beautiful dive where we saw many types of soft coral.

Soft Coral

We also spotted clownfish, including the Orange Clownfish featured in the movie Finding Nemo.

Orange Clownfish

I decided to skip a second planned dive so that I could try snorkeling again at Debbie’s spot later in the afternoon. Despite our best efforts, the “supposed to be guaranteed” Debbie did not show up. However, I enjoyed seeing a few fish and a beautiful sea turtle, which quickly swam away when it saw me.

Clownfish sp.

Sea Turtle

The next day brought a second chance! Early in the morning, we headed to Dugong Sandy’s beach. Sandy, the tame Dugong, was harder to find than Debbie. Yesterday had already shown that even predictable Debbie could behave unpredictably. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, so we gave it a shot. This would also be my last chance of the trip to see this species, adding some pressure to succeed.

At Sandy’s spot, the seagrass patch was much smaller than Debbie’s, making it easier to check the area. Unfortunately, we quickly realized Sandy was nowhere to be found. That was very disappointing! We decided to explore the beautiful coral in the area.

Coral Reefs

We found Nemo again!

Orange Clownfish

On the way back, we checked the seagrass patch one more time, but Sandy was still absent. So, we left the water, removed our gear, and settled into folding chairs for lunch. The plan was to do a second dive at Debbie’s location in hopes she would be kinder to us than the day before. Just as we took our first bite, Juve, our dive instructor, suddenly called out that he had spotted Sandy! And indeed some faint movement was visible in the water – that was a good spot though!

I hesitantly asked if we couldn’t just get back into the water, and it turned out we could. Because the seagrass area was relatively shallow, we could safely re-enter the water without risking decompression issues from scuba diving. We couldn’t go deeper than five meters.

Quickly, we geared up again, fitted new tanks, and returned to the water. Sandy had surfaced once more, giving us hope he was still around, though we couldn’t be sure. I decided I wouldn’t celebrate until I saw him with my own eyes.

Getting back in the water!

Fortunately, the moment didn’t take long to come. Suddenly, Juve pointed enthusiastically at a faint shape on the ocean floor—there lay Dugong Sandy!

Dugong

Cautiously, I swam closer. Dugong Sandy was eating voraciously, following a predictable route across the seafloor. All I had to do was position myself along his path, and Sandy would eventually swim right past me!

Dugong

It was fascinating to watch him eat. Dugongs can consume up to 40 kilograms of seagrass daily, eating it root and all. This creates a perpetual cloud of sand around a feeding Dugong.

Dugong

Sadly, seagrass habitats are under pressure, reducing suitable areas for Dugongs. Additionally, Dugongs often fall victim to fishing practices involving nets in which they become entangled and drown. However, there are some positive developments: the specific hunting of Dugongs is declining. Sandy is a great example of this progress, as he clearly grew up without fear of humans.

This lack of fear was evident, as Sandy came very close! Experiencing this at such a short distance truly was a cherry on top of my stay on Timor-Leste.

Dugong

Occasionally, Sandy surfaced to breathe before returning to the bottom to continue feeding.

Dugong

Each time, finding Sandy again became a challenge, but we managed to witness about four feeding sessions. The final session ended on a high note when Sandy swam right past me. He came so close that he tilted his body to maneuver around me. After that, we couldn’t find Sandy again, but this was a fantastic conclusion to the experience.