Rescuers praised after hauling young dugong to safety

Wildlife officials have hailed the "all hands" rescue of a young dugong tangled in a car fanbelt along Western Australia's north-west coast.

The globally vulnerable marine mammal was spotted struggling on Wednesday at Wapet Creek, a tidal estuary popular with flat fishers near Exmouth, 1,230 kilometres north of Perth.

Roughly two metres long, it took 15 responders less than 24 hours to return the dugong to deeper water.

"This was a smaller animal," said Sam Miles, acting marine program coordinator at WA's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

"But even a two-metre dugong can weigh a couple of hundred kilograms."

The crew dubbed the dugong "Wapi" for the creek where it was found.

After assessing its health and contacting experts at Perth Zoo and the Sea World Foundation for advice, the group restrained the dugong before cutting it free.

They wrapped Wapi in a cargo net, hoisted it up from the shallows and over a sandbar back to sea.

Mr Miles said the team effort was "heartening".

"It took all hands on deck to lift the animal over the sand flats and back into the gulf," he said.

"Dugongs are endangered and we know that every dugong we save will help the overall population in the Exmouth Gulf."

Species under pressure

The dugong was entangled in the rubber fanbelt of a car, catching its rescuers by surprise.

"We haven't seen entanglements in this kind of thing before, so we're not sure where it picked the entanglement up," Mr Miles said.

"It wasn't showing any signs of major distress, which was really important."

Exmouth Gulf is home to WA's second highest concentration of dugongs, behind Shark Bay.

But the gentle species is increasingly under threat around the country.

In the gulf, a record-breaking marine heatwave during the summer of 2025 devastated some seagrass stocks, scorching two varieties of the dugong's preferred food source.

Last month, aerial surveys of Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria revealed its dugong population had suffered a 50 per cent drop in the past 20 years.

Helene Marsh, professor emeritus in conservation science at James Cook University, said she was "delighted" to see the animal move so strongly following its release.

"Australia's unquestionably the dugong capital of the world," she said, adding that they should be protected for animal welfare, scientific and cultural reasons.

"I think we're starting to understand we don't only need to protect animals because of their conservation significance, but we also need to think about their cultural significance."

Mr Miles said the rescue was a much-needed morale booster after a challenging year of entanglements off the remote Ningaloo coast.

"Sometimes we don't have the same positive outcomes," he said.

In a video captured by one of the DBCA staff, they can be heard calling out "yadiyarra”, or dugong in the language of the gulf's Baiyungu traditional owners, as it swims off.