Dugongs are mammals that are usually found in warm coastal waters. They can grow to be up to 3m long and weigh more than 400kg. The gestation period for a female dugong is one year and usually results in one calf that lives up to 70 years, according to the National Geographic. Dugongs can stay underwater for up to six minutes before surfacing to breathe through its lungs, and sometimes breathes while standing on its tail and poking its head outside the water. Baby dugongs stay in close contact with their mothers until they are 18 months old and sometimes the mother will gently carry them on her back to the surface to breathe.

 

Qatar is home to the largest population of dugongs following Australia. In January 2015, ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) and the Natural Reserves Private Engineering Office (NRPEO) conducted a one-day field mission to determine the specific location of the dugongs off the west coast of Qatar. Around 300 to 500 dugongs were spotted by researchers, mostly mothers and their babies.

 

There are around 6,000 of the sea mammals, Dugongs, in the Gulf, of which Qatar is home to at least two out of three important regional dugong habitats, according to EMRQ. As part of Qatar?s efforts to protect marine life, the NRPEO has signed an agreement with ExxonMobil to help protect the vulnerable dugong.

 

In an interview with Qatar Foundation about their work, EMRQ research director Dr. Jennifer Dupont said "In the winter, it has been reported that the dugongs tend to congregate in northwest Qatar and then they spread out around the coast during the summer. Reports and sightings are sparse, leading to less awareness about the animals among residents of Qatar. We hope that this study will increase people's attention to the presence of these iconic animals."

 

In the past, Dugongs had been a source of food and commerce in the Gulf. However, it is now illegal to hunt for its meat and oil. Dugongs are classified as vulnerable to extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. One factor that contributes to their vulnerable status is that they are slow to reproduce. Dugongs live on a diet of sea grass, so overfishing which sometimes collects these plants poses a major threat to their existence.