The tranquil waters of Tang Khen Bay, off the coast of Phuket, were once home to a thriving population of dugongs, the gentle sea cows of the Andaman Sea. But in recent years, this fragile ecosystem has been under threat, with the dugong population dwindling at an alarming rate.
Theera ak “Pop” Sakritawee, a passionate amateur conservationist, has made it his mission to monitor and protect the remaining dugongs in the area. Armed with a drone, he spends hours every day scouring the bay, searching for the elusive Miracle, the last dugong still clinging to life in these waters.
Once, there were as many as 13 dugongs thriving in Tang Khen Bay, grazing on the lush seagrass that carpeted the seafloor. But now, Miracle is the sole survivor, having chased away the others in a desperate bid to maintain control over the dwindling food source.
The story of the Andaman Coast’s dugongs is a microcosm of the larger crisis facing these gentle marine mammals across the Indo-Pacific region. An assessment by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals found that dugongs, already considered vulnerable to extinction, are now critically endangered in many parts of the world, threatened by a combination of habitat loss, climate change, and pollution.
In Thailand, the dugongs along the Andaman Coast were once considered a stronghold for the species, with an estimated 273 individuals living in the country’s waters in 2022. But in recent years, a troubling trend has emerged – dead and emaciated dugongs have been washing up on the shores in alarming numbers.
According to Petch Manopawitr, an ecologist and advisor on dugongs to Thailand’s marine and coastal resources department, the country has likely lost half its dugong population in a short span of time. “We never really imagined we were going to lose such a vast area of seagrass – the last stronghold of seagrass in Thailand – in a very short period of time,” he says.
The root cause of the seagrass die-off remains elusive, with experts pointing to a combination of factors, including siltation, pollution, and the effects of climate change. A team of international scientists who conducted a fact-finding mission along the Andaman Coast concluded that the dugongs were responding to a massive seagrass collapse, leaving them with dwindling food sources.
For Pop and others like Manee Sanae, who runs a roti stall on the shores of Tang Khen Bay, the loss of the dugongs is deeply personal. “There was also much more seagrass before, even near the boats that you see parked in front of my shop. But not any more,” Sanae laments.
As the battle to save Thailand’s dugongs continues, the future of these iconic creatures hangs in the balance. Efforts by the government to plant new seagrass and provide additional food for the hungry dugongs are a start, but experts say more comprehensive and adaptive measures are needed to create a sustainable ocean corridor for the migratory animals.
For now, Pop and his community remain vigilant, ready to sound the alarm whenever they spot a threat to Miracle and the fragile ecosystem that sustains her. It is a race against time, but the stakes are high – to preserve the last vestiges of a once-thriving population and ensure that the dugongs of the Andaman Coast continue to grace these waters for generations to come.
