‘Gastro’ did baby dugong ‘Binu’ in

By: DJ Yap - 11 years ago

RESCUED BABY DUGONG ON ITS BACK. “Binu,” a sea cow found stranded at low tide in Binulasan village in Infanta, Quezon province, last week, is now with the Biodiversity Management Bureau, which intends to nurse it back to health with infant formula. The dugong (inset full body), a mammal, will be temporarily kept at Manila Ocean Park. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—Gastrointestinal infection has been identified as the cause of death of the baby dugong that was rescued in Infanta town earlier this month, according to the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB).

A postmortem examination conducted on the sea cow on Monday found lesions in the gastrointestinal tract of the month-old male neonate or nursling, said BMB Director Theresa Mundita Lim.

Lim said a combination of factors may have led to the infection, including the infant formula that was being fed to the animal, as well as the stress experienced in its new environment that may have compromised its natural immune defenses.

Dr. Rizza Salinas, resident veterinarian of the BMB’s rescue and wildlife center, said the milk formula used to feed the dugong was based on the agency’s past experiences caring for rescued young dugong.

Since the 1990s, the BMB (formerly the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau) has rescued eight baby dugong, of which none have survived.

Lim said all efforts were made to ensure the dugong’s survival, including the use of sterilized water and the addition of soy milk to supplement its diet.

“After it survived for a week, we were beginning to be hopeful,” she said.

The dugong, the youngest sea cow to be rescued by the agency in the past 10 years, was named “Binu,” after the village of Binulasan in Infanta, Quezon, where it was found stranded at low tide by two fishermen last Jan. 9.

Locals initially kept it in a pit that they had dug on the beach, but because of the strong waves in the area, the dugong was transferred to another barangay (village) where a makeshift pen was constructed as a temporary shelter. It was later transferred to the marine rescue center of the Manila Ocean Park.