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Animal Age

How old does a Dugong get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Dugong reaches?

An adult Dugong (Dugong dugon) usually gets as old as 70 years.

Dugongs are around 372 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 23.48 kg (51.76 lbs) and measure 1.1 meter (3′ 8″). As a member of the Dugongidae family (genus: Dugong), their offspring is 1 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 2.55 meter (8′ 5″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Dugong gets as old as 70 years

The dugong (; Dugong dugon) is a medium-sized marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. The dugong is the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal.The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong’s contemporary stronghold.Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like. The dugong is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for feeding in benthic seagrass communities. The molar teeth are simple and peg-like unlike the more elaborate molar dentition of manatees.The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modern range, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong’s current distribution is fragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products. Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include fishing-related fatalities, habitat degradation and hunting. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.

Animals of the same family as a Dugong

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Dugongidae):

Animals that reach the same age as Dugong

With an average age of 70 years, Dugong are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Dugong

The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:

Weighting as much as Dugong

A fully grown Dugong reaches around 295 kg (650.36 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Dugong

Those animals grow as big as a Dugong: