Residents of Barangay Boroc-boroc in Belison town in Antique found a dead sea cow locally known as “dugong” on its shorelines on Wednesday.
Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Louie Laud, in an interview on Thursday, said the sea cow might have parasites that it tried to move up into the dry land after it could no longer swim.
Belison has no marine protected area and sea grass could indicate that the place is a potential breeding place for sea cows, Laud added.
“It was the first time that a sea cow about 500 to 600 kilograms with a length of three meters was found by the residents lying along the shorelines of the barangay,” he said.
The dugong was found dead about two meters away from the shorelines.
“We saw that there was hematoma on the body of the sea cow, but we don’t know if it was incurred after the coastal folks tried to pull it out from the area,” Laud said.
The sea animal was transported to the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center in Tigbauan, Iloilo Wednesday evening for a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
After the necropsy, the sea cow might be preserved and displayed at the National Museum in Iloilo City, Laud added. (PNA)
Source: Philippines News Agency
