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Baby Dugong Mariam dies after pieces of plastic clogs her digestive system

The baby dugong rescued in Thailand earlier this year died on Saturday after pieces of plastic were seen clogging her digestive system.

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources pronounced the dugong named ‘Mariam’ or “lady of the sea”, in a Facebook post.

According to a report from Reuters, ten vets performed an autopsy on the dead body of the dugong where small pieces of plastic were found clogging her intestines.

Nantarika Chansue, one of the vets who examined Mariam, said this caused inflammation leading to a blood infection and inflamed lungs.

Mariam was found stranded on a beach in southern Krabi province by Thai authorities in April.

They fed her milk and seagrass before releasing her back to the sea a few times. But she always came back with wounds from her encounters in the sea.

Last week, Mariam was found ill and refused to eat and it made her lose a lot of weight.

Chansue reiterated the call “to save the environment to save these rare sea animals”.

Under Thai laws, dugongs are listed as one of the 19 reserved wild animals. Hunting and trading of these animals are prohibited.

Photo credit: Nantarika Chansue

Staff Report

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