Dugongs in Marsa Alam: The Rare Sea Cow and How to Behave If You Meet One
Youssef HassanPADI Instructor & Marine Guide6 min read
Dugongs are shy, seagrass-eating sea cows, and Marsa Alam is one of the few places in Egypt where you might meet one. Sightings are rare and never guaranteed. Here is what they are, where they feed and how to behave if you are lucky.
Of all the animals in the Red Sea, the dugong is the one many divers and snorkelers dream of meeting. This gentle, grey sea cow grazes on seagrass in a few sheltered bays around Marsa Alam, and now and then a lucky visitor shares the water with one. Most never do. This guide explains what dugongs are, why they are so rare, where they feed, and how to behave if you are the lucky one.
What is a dugong?
The dugong is a marine mammal, often called a sea cow: Seekuh in German, zeekoe in Dutch, dugongo in Italian and diugoń in Polish. Together with the manatees it belongs to a small group of animals called sirenians, and its closest living relatives on land are the elephants. Adults grow to about 3 metres long. They have a rounded, downward-pointing snout made for grazing, and a tail fluke shaped like a dolphin’s, where manatees have a rounded paddle.
Dugongs are the only plant-eating mammals that live only in the sea. They feed almost entirely on seagrass, and an adult can eat around 30 to 40 kg of it a day, pulling up whole plants and leaving winding feeding trails in the sand. Like all mammals they breathe air, so they come up every few minutes, often showing little more than their nostrils before slipping back down.
Why dugongs are so rare
Dugongs are listed as vulnerable worldwide on the IUCN Red List, and in many of the countries where they live their situation is worse. They live slowly: they can reach a great age, but a female has a single calf only every few years, so a population that shrinks takes a very long time to recover.
The main threats are the loss of the seagrass they depend on, fishing nets, collisions with boats and disturbance. In the Red Sea they are few and spread out, moving between feeding areas, so no one can say when or where one will appear. That is why we never promise a dugong on any trip, and why every calm, respectful encounter matters.
Where dugongs feed around Marsa Alam
Dugongs follow the seagrass, so around Marsa Alam they are seen in sheltered, shallow bays with seagrass meadows. The best known is Abu Dabbab Bay, about 30 to 40 minutes north of Marsa Alam, which is also a feeding ground for green sea turtles. Marsa Mubarak, another seagrass bay north of Marsa Alam, is a second place where they have been seen.
On our Abu Dabbab snorkeling trip you walk in from the beach and snorkel with a guide over the same seagrass meadows. The turtles are the reason to go, and sightings of them are very common, especially in the morning. A dugong is a rare bonus that most visitors never see.
Divers have a chance too. On our diving trip, sites are chosen on the day for the conditions and your level, and the bay at Abu Dabbab is a typical choice for beginners. Our guide to diving in Marsa Alam for beginners explains how a first dive works.
How to behave if you meet a dugong
If you are lucky, the most important thing is to stay calm and still. HEPCA, the Red Sea conservation association, publishes guidelines for watching dugongs, and together with our guides’ own rules they come down to this:
- Never touch, chase, ride or feed a dugong.
- Always leave it a clear way out and a clear way up to the surface. Never surround it or block its path.
- Keep your distance and let the dugong decide. If it comes closer, stay still rather than reaching out.
- Stay at the surface. Don’t dive down on top of a feeding dugong.
- Keep the noise down: no splashing, shouting or banging on tanks.
- Switch off your flash, and never follow a dugong for a photo or a selfie.
- If a crowd gathers, swim away and give it space. Stay well away from a dugong that looks injured or sick.
- If you see anyone harassing a dugong, tell your guide.
A feeding dugong needs quiet. Snorkelers who crowd it or chase it can drive it away from the seagrass it depends on, and from the bay for everyone who comes after. Watching from a respectful distance for a minute or two is a memory for life; following it is not worth it.
Making the most of a morning in the bay
Go in the morning, when the light is best for spotting animals on the seagrass; our Abu Dabbab trip picks you up at around 8:30 AM. Swim slowly, keep your face in the water and scan the meadow below you. Long trails of torn-up seagrass are a sign that a dugong has fed there, even if it has already moved on. Our guide to swimming with turtles in Abu Dabbab explains how to find and watch the turtles that you are far more likely to meet.
The trip suits beginners and families: the water is calm and shallow on most days, children aged three and over can join with a parent and a life jacket, and life jackets and pool noodles are available.
- Reef-safe sunscreen, or better, a long-sleeved rash guard.
- Water shoes for the sand and seagrass at the entry (optional).
- An underwater camera with the flash switched off.
- A towel and a hat for the beach afterwards.
For a different wildlife day, the Sataya dolphin reef trip takes you by boat to the reef where wild spinner dolphins rest, again never guaranteed. Our comparison of Sataya or Abu Dabbab helps you choose, and our guide to snorkeling in Marsa Alam covers every spot on the coast.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes. Dugongs feed in a few seagrass bays around Marsa Alam, such as Abu Dabbab, but they are rare and a sighting is never guaranteed. Most visitors see green turtles instead.
Sheltered seagrass bays such as Abu Dabbab and Marsa Mubarak, where dugongs come to feed. No place or time is reliable, because they move between feeding areas.
Yes, dugongs are gentle plant-eaters. The risk is to the dugong: keep your distance, never touch or chase it, and always leave it a clear way out and up to the surface.
Both are sea cows. The dugong lives only in the sea, has a tail fluke like a dolphin’s and a snout that points down for grazing seagrass. Manatees have a rounded, paddle-shaped tail and live along the Atlantic coasts and in rivers.
Dugongs are listed as vulnerable worldwide on the IUCN Red List, and their situation is worse in many countries. They breed slowly, with one calf every few years, so populations recover very slowly.
Youssef Hassan
PADI Instructor & Marine Guide
Youssef is a PADI-certified diving instructor and marine naturalist with more than 3,000 logged dives in the Red Sea. He writes about diving, snorkeling and marine conservation around Marsa Alam.
