Guest guest Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Thursday September 7, 2006 - The Star Idris sad over death of rescued baby dugong *By R.S.N. MURALI* *KUALA TERENGGANU:* Mentri-Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh walked out in a sombre mood after chairing the weekly state exco meeting yesterday. " I am a sad man today. Puteri Kapas has left us, " he told newsmen waiting outside, referring to the baby dugong which was rescued two weeks ago off Pulau Kapas, here. Idris said he had been very optimistic that Puteri Kapas would live with all the medical attention and care given to her. The state even allocated an interim fund of RM140,600 to ensure her survival and declared the dugong calf as its " adopted child " . " I was shocked to hear this morning that Puteri Kapas had died. It was unfortunate that we had to lose her despite all our efforts, " he said, adding that the dugong had shown 80% recovery last week. Idris said he would ask the State Fisheries Department to prepare a detailed report on the cause of Puteri Kapas' death. Following its rescue, the dugong calf was confined to the swimming pool of a resort in nearby Pulau Gemia and the department's Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre (Tumec) was tasked with caring for the animal. Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences executive sub-committee member Darren Chow, who was among the first few to assist the marine mammal, regretted the lack of urgency from the relevant authorities for the ill-fated animal. " Precious time was wasted and the animal was denied its chance for rehabilitation and survival, " he claimed. Chow, who last attended to the calf on Aug 26, had recommended that a temporary shade be put up to minimise heat in the pool which could reach 35 °C while the sea water was between 27°C and 28°C. He conceded that while conservationists were against the idea of rehabilitating the dugong in captivity, the method had been proven successful in Australia. " In Indonesia, Sea World in Jakarta had successfully raised four orphaned calves. We had been in touch with curator Rika Sudranto who advised us on the general husbandry, " said Chow. On Tuesday, *Bernama* quoted Tumec head Kamaruddin Ibrahim as saying that the centre was working closely with Singapore Underwater World and Australia's Sea World on raising the baby dugong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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