India, Oct. 13 -- A new report released at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on October 12, 2025, has painted a grim picture of dugongs or sea cows in India.

According to the report, the long-term survival of dugongs in the Gulf of Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the long term is highly uncertain or challenging. The population of the sea mammals in the Gulf of Mannar-Palk Bay region is also much lower than what it was in the recent past.

"The Gulf of Kutch supports an isolated, resident dugong population. The limited extent of the potential seagrass habitat means it is only able to support a relatively small dugong population, a situation which...