Dead dugong found on beach

12th March 2009

ON his way back from an early morning stroll to check some crab pots, Gordon Kendall got a little more than he bargained for on the beach near Toogoom.

Gordon Kendall with a dead dugong found on Toogoom beach on Thursday.

Alistair Brightman

ON his way back from an early morning stroll to check some crab pots, Gordon Kendall got a little more than he bargained for on the beach near Toogoom yesterday.

A visitor to the area pointed him in the direction of something much bigger than any crab.

A 3.3-metre dead, female dugong had washed up overnight on the sand at the western end of Kingfisher Parade.

“It looked like it had been caught up in a net because there were tangle marks around its body,” Mr Kendall, a Bundaberg native now living in Toogoom, said.

“It had probably been dead in the ocean for a little while and floated out on the high tide this week.”

A spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency said marine parks staff had investigated a stranding report.

“There were no indications that the death was related to any illegal activity,” she said.

“Stranded dead animals are generally left where they are found as their decomposition is a natural process within the marine park.

“The only exception is if there is any public health hazard, at which time the council would arrange for its removal or burial.”

A spokesman for the Fraser Coast Regional Council said the council would wait to see if the dugong was still on the beach after last night's high tide.

“If it's still there and people think that it's becoming a health hazard or a problem, we will take steps to remove it.”

Dugongs are large grey mammals that spend their entire lives in the sea.