"It is clear that dugongs are now critically endangered in Tanzania and without immediate concerted conservation effort, they will almost certainly become nationally extinct in the near future," WWF said in a statement released in the Kenyan capital.

Thirty-two sightings of dugongs have been recorded since January 2000 and only eight of those were alive, the rest were dead after having been entrapped and entangled in gillnets, according to the statement.

Dugongs, seal-like creatures, are descended from terrestial swamp browsers that lived 55 million years ago and can grow to 3.5 metres (more than 11 feet) in length and weigh 400 kilograms (880 pounds).

TERRA.WIRE