Did this “Sea cow” get stranded on Mannar beach? Find out the truth..

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At times, mainstream media outlets also misleadingly report news items without verifying the facts, which often have multiplying effects as they get shared among social media users. Let’s look at one such recent incident.

Social Media Posts :

Some mainstream media outlets and social media posts reported that “Sea cows have stranded on Mannar beach.”

Facebook | Archived Link

These posts were also shared in English. Below is such a post, along with a link to a news article stating that a dead sea cow was found in Mannar. Archived

FB

Here is how we checked the credibility of these posts.

Fact Check :

First, we checked the news report links that were mentioned in the circulated posts, and they further stated, 

“A sea creature known as ‘Sea Cow’ was found stranded in the Thirupullani area on the southern coast of Mannar on the 20th morning. “This animal, which is about 8 years old, weighs about 300 kilograms, has a circumference of about 2.30 meters, and environmentalists believe that it may have died in an accident after being hit by a fishing boat.”

You can view those reports here, here and here. Archived Link

Since there is no area named Thirupullani in the Mannar district, we investigated and found that it is actually located in Tamil Nadu, India.

As a result, we checked whether the Indian media reports had reported any recent incidents of a ‘Sea Cow’ or the Dugong marine mammal having stranded on the beach. Upon checking, we found that The Hindu news website had reported on this. 

It stated that, 

“On the 19th, fishermen identified the dead marine mammal on the Sethukkarai coast of India near the Southern Gulf of Mannar, and later informed the Keelakarai Forest Conservation Department officials”.

Sethukkarai Beach in India on Google Maps

According to the Wildlife Conservation Department officials, the dead female dugong is 8 – 9 years old, weighs 300 kilograms, and is estimated to be 300 centimetres long, 115 centimetres wide and 230 centimetres in circumference.

It was also stated that the officials from the Wildlife Conservation Department said that the cause of the death could only be known after receiving the post-mortem report, whether the animal died from an illness or due to hitting rocks.

SL officials and Journalists confirm

We also asked local journalists in Mannar about this, and they stated that although it was found in the Gulf of Mannar, it was stranded on the Indian coast, and not in Sri Lanka.

Similarly, the Director of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Manjula Aamararatne, stated that this marine mammal has not been stranded on the Mannar coast, but rather in India, and that some media outlets have reported the information in a misleading manner.

Are Dugongs found in the Sri Lankan seas?

Dr Ranil Nanayakkara, a conservation biologist specializing in terrestrial and marine mammals, stated that dugongs are found in some coastal regions of the country. He noted that in the early 1900s, significant herds of dugongs were reported in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka; however, the number of dugongs currently living in this region remains uncertain. 

According to him, although the sightings of dugongs are rare, dugong killings are reported in the country’s Maanar and Palk Straits. He also emphasised that there have been no reports of killings in other parts of the country, such as the Southern Province or the Western Region. 

However, there is fossil evidence in the eastern regions, where significant seagrasses still exist, which is why dugongs are found in these areas. Dr Nanayakkara further stated that although they prefer shallow water, they sometimes find themselves in deeper waters.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation reveals that some mainstream media outlets and social media posts claiming that “Sea Cow found dead on Mannar beach” are misleading. In fact, it was stranded on the Sethukkarai beach in India.