A group of ocean experts has been helping a baby dugong survive off the southern coast of Thailand. Dugongs are large ocean mammals. The experts named the baby Marium. She has developed an attachment to humans since her accidental separation from her mother. The experts hope Marium will soon be able to survive on her own. Marium is about five months old. She has become popular on social media in Thailand since images spread of the biologists feeding her milk and sea grass. The dugong is a kind of sea mammal similar to the American manatee and can grow to about 3.4 meters in length. The non-profit group International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists dugongs as vulnerable. Marium was found alone near a beach on Ko Poda island in April 2019. Officials later tried to release her into a dugong habitat near the coast of another island but she swam away.
