A baby dugong who got lost off southern Thailand is being nurtured by marine experts in hopes that can one day fend for itself.
The female dugong named Marium was spotted alone near a beach on Ko Poda island in Krabi province in April. Officials later tried to release her into a dugong habitat off the coast of another island but it swam away.
Vets and volunteers set out each day in canoes to locate Marium near the dugong habitat off Ko Libong island.
She does not swim with the herd and usually comes straight to them, then follows them into shallower water, where it is fed milk and sea grass, similar to her natural diet, for up to 15 times a day while also receiving health checks.
Marium's caretakers believe it has formed a bond with humans but is also drawn to the shape of the underside of canoes.
Nantarika Chansue, director of the Aquatic Animal Research Center said: 'She's attached and tries to swim and cling to the boat as if it was her mother and when we are swimming she would come and tuck under our arms. It's almost like the way she would tuck under her mother'.
'So I think it's not only humans but anything that looks like another dugong that she would be attached to,' Nantarika said.
Marium has attained fame on social media, and images of it bonding with its human guardians have been widely published by Thai media. She also attracts crowds on Libong island, where its feeding is often watched by scores of people crowding the seashore.
Veterinarians say they need to continue looking after Marium for at least another year until it can be weaned off of bottled milk.
Nantarika said dugongs typically stop feeding on milk at around 18 months and usually spend around eight years under their mothers' care.
Music: "On My Way" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: Daily Mail, Yahoo
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