Decapitated dugong found on Koh Yao Yai

PHUKET: A dugong that washed up on Koh Yao Yai Beach Tuesday morning is believed to have been decapitated for its teeth, experts confirmed.

“Dugong teeth are revered by some as good luck charms and are often used to make necklaces,” said Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, head of the Phuket Marine Biological Center’s (PMBC’s) Endangered Species Unit.

PMBC experts estimated that the headless dugong, better known as a sea cow, would have been about three meters long.

The autopsy conducted yesterday morning revealed that the 40-year-old, 330-kilogram marine mammal had suffered a broken back and was decapitated post mortem.

Related news

“The upper part of the backbone was broken and it had severe bruising on its back muscles that were about one meter wide,” said Dr Kongkiat. “We believe that the dugong was hit by a boat, as a human could not have caused such extensive damage.”

The PMBC filed a complaint with the Koh Yao Police, asking that they follow up on the beheading.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong

Phuket News

Thaiger Talk

Join the conversation and have your say on Thailand news published on The Thaiger.

Thaiger Talk is our new Thaiger Community where you can join the discussion on everything happening in Thailand right now.

Please note that articles are not posted to the forum instantly and can take up to 20 min before being visible. Click for more information and the Thaiger Talk Guidelines.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Check Also
Close