A dead dugong was found beached near an estuary on Libong Island in Thailand’s southern province of Trang on Sunday morning.

The two fishermen from Ban Nam Robin Tambon Bangsak, who found the dead animal, immediately alerted the Marine and Coastal Resources Regional Office which dispatched a team of officials to investigate.

The dead dugong was measured at about 1.5 metres and weighed about 50kgs, but it was already so badly decomposed that officials could not determine its gender or cause of death.

Officials took some samples from the carcass to be sent to the research centre in Trang province for laboratory examination and buried the carcass near Ban Nam Rab village.

This is the 10th dugong this year to be found dead off Trang province.

Koh Libong, or Libong Island, is home to most of Thailand’s dugong, an estimated population of about 200. The seas around the island are rich in sea grass, the main source of food for the mammals.