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Rescued Thai baby dugong killed by ocean plastic

18 August 2019
10656
2019-08-18 12:50

An orphaned baby dugong rescued in Thailand earlier this year died on Saturday due to pieces of plastic clogging her digestive system. The dugong, whom Thais had fondly taken to calling Marium, meaning "lady of the sea", had been under the care of Thai authorities since she was founded stranded on a beach in the southern Krabi province in April.

Last week, Marium was found ill and refused to eat, losing a lot of weight said one of the vets who took care of the dugong. She was pronounced dead by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources on its Facebook page. A team of 10 vets performed an autopsy on Marium, and five hours after her death, they concluded that plastic had killed her. Dugongs are listed as one of 19 reserved wild animals under Thai laws, which prohibit hunting or trading them.

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