Pupil lesson
Why does a dugong need a seagrass meadow?
Read, think and draw. Use paper or a document provided by your teacher. You do not need an account or to send personal details to KEO.
Read and wonder
A dugong is a marine mammal. It breathes air and grazes on seagrass in shallow coastal water. Seagrasses are flowering plants growing underwater. A meadow is a feeding place, not just green scenery.
Dugongs need suitable habitat and enough food. Pollution and coastal development can damage seagrass. Dugongs can also become caught in fishing nets. Protecting them means considering the animals and the places they use. Coastal communities, researchers and decision-makers all have roles in this work.
Three things to know
- Dugongs are marine mammals.
- They eat seagrass in shallow coastal water.
- Protecting habitat helps protect an animal.
- Suitable coastal habitat
- Seagrass provides food
- Dugongs can feed
Words to explore
- Mammal
- An animal whose young are fed milk by their mother.
- Habitat
- The place where a living thing finds what it needs to survive.
Think it through
1. Does a dugong breathe air or use gills?
2. What does a dugong eat?
3. Why protect its food supply as well as the animal?
Try it
Make a paper habitat card showing a dugong, its food, a feeding place and one threat adults could help reduce. Connect its needs with arrows.
Sources and credits
Lesson summary and activity prepared for Kids.Earth.Org. Factual sources checked 5 November 2026.