David Bosun
Dugongs are usually able to reproduce by the age of nine or ten years though sometime not until as late as 15 years. A female Dugong can only have one calf every 3-7 year and the pregnancy lasts 12-14 months. To keep the new born calf safe from sharks the female will move to shallow waters. When she is ready to give birth the estimated size of a new born is slightly more then a metre in length and usually between 20-35 kilograms in weight. Mothers will nurse their young up to 18 months and the calf may stay with it’s mum for up to two years, where the calf still sucks milk from the mother’s teats and there is one teat under each flipper. Dugong do not mate for life and male Dugongs do not help to rear young.