A 30-second clip of a dugong in Ben Dam Bay, Con Dao. Nguyen Phung Hung, a resident of the island, said he had this clip thanks to many people sharing it with each other, so he posted it on his personal page . He guessed that the person who filmed the clip might be a canoe driver who picks up and drops off tourists.
Notably, there is another video filmed quite professionally with a flycam by Mr. Pham Tan Huy – an employee of the Con Dao District Cultural Information Center .
Mr. Huy said that at around 2:00 p.m. on February 17, while flying a flycam to make a report about the banyan tree changing leaves on Ton Duc Thang Street – the center of Con Dao, he discovered a large animal swimming close to the shore (in the area of Con Son Bay). At first he thought it was a fish, but then he realized it was a dugong, so he let the flycam fly for quite a long distance.
After that, Mr. Huy posted this video clip on social networks and it was shared by many fanpages and social networks.
People often call dugongs “duck fish” and explain that this species bends down to the seabed to eat seagrass and seaweed – their main food source.
There are about 12 dugongs regularly appearing in Con Dao.
According to the latest scientific research published in 2024, in the waters of Con Dao, there are about 12 dugongs that regularly appear and feed on the seagrass beds. In the waters of Con Dao, there are hundreds of hectares of seagrass, so dugongs mainly feed in Con Son Bay, Six Senses Beach and Bay Canh Island.
The frequency of seeing dugongs living and foraging in Con Dao is highest in June and September every year. In Vietnam, in addition to the waters of Con Dao, dugongs are also found in Phu Quoc .
Source: Vietnam Insider