Thailand's lost baby dugong dies of shock, plastic

Baby dugong was found with bruise marks on her body after being chased and supposedly attacked by a male dugong during the mating season.

Libong Island: An 8-month-old dugong nurtured by marine experts has died of what biologists believe was a combination of shock and ingesting plastic waste.

The female dugong was a large ocean mammal, named as 'Marium' and became a hit in Thailand after a video of biologists embracing and feeding her with milk and seagrass spread across social media.

Veterinarians and volunteers used to feed Marium up to 15 times a day and also gave her health checks.

She was found last week with bruise marks on her body after being chased and supposedly attacked by a male dugong during the mating season, said Jatuporn Buruspat, the director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.

She was brought in for treatment in the artificial sea on Libong Island in Krabi province.

"We assume she wandered off too far from her natural habitat and was chased, and eventually attacked by another male dugong, or dugongs, as they feel attracted to her," he said on Saturday.

An autopsy showed a large amount of plastic waste in her intestine, which could also have played a part in her death as it led to gastritis and blood infection, he said.

The dugong is a species of marine mammal similar to the American manatee and can grow to about 3.4 metres in length.

Its conservation status is listed as vulnerable.