Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand's shores?

"A solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand's Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands. About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, focused on a whirling grey shape: Miracle, the local dugong, is back."

"Theerasak Saksritawee, known by his nickname Pop, has been visiting Tang Khen Bay nearly every day for the past 15 months to monitor the dugongs, including Miracle, who have come to live in this pocket of the Andaman Sea. After dropping his daughter off at school, Pop, 42, makes the short drive from his home in Phuket city down to a roti bread shack crouched on the bay's shore."

"I see Miracle almost every day, although there have been times when I didn't spot him for as long as a month, says Pop, a hobbyist photographer who began filming the dugongs after seeing them on social media. I feel a deep connection to these incredible creatures, he says. Dugongs are a vital part of my home. I felt heartbroken because she was one of my favourite dugongs."

"At one point, there were as many as 13 dugongs living in Tang Khen Bay, nibbling the stubbly seagrass that sprouts along the ocean floor. But today, Miracle is the only one left. The aggressive dugong chased the others away, Pop says, nipping at their paddle-shaped flippers to keep the precious seagrass to himself. It is not known where the others have gone. The only companion that Miracle seemed to tolerate a small female dugong named Jingjok died last year."

A local enthusiast named Theerasak “Pop” Saksritawee uses a drone to monitor dugongs in Tang Khen Bay almost daily, often spending up to eight hours staking out the shore. Pop began filming the animals after seeing them on social media and travels from Phuket and occasionally other nearby beaches to search for them. The bay once hosted up to 13 dugongs feeding on stubbly seagrass, but aggressive behavior reduced the group until only Miracle remained. Miracle’s only tolerated companion, a female named Jingjok, died last year, and the whereabouts of the other dugongs are unknown.

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