The Guardian
Thailand’s endangered ‘sea cows’ are washing ashore – pointing to a crisis in our seas 23 janvier 2026 à 08:00

Thailand’s endangered ‘sea cows’ are washing ashore – pointing to a crisis in our seas

23 janvier 2026 à 08:00

The Andaman Coast has one of the largest concentration of dugong in the world, so why are numbers falling dramatically and what can they tell us about a biodiversity warning cry

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Thailand’s Andaman Coast is home to one of the largest dugong populations in the world, with 273 of the plump marine mammals, sometimes called sea cows, estimated to be living there as of 2022. In recent years, though, more and more dead or stranded dugongs have been washing ashore. Now the Andaman Coast population may have fallen by more than half, experts say.

In late November, I travelled to Phuket, following in the footsteps of film-makers Mailee Osten-Tan and Nick Axelrod, who have been investigating Thailand’s dugong crisis over the past year for a new Guardian documentary.

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The Guardian
Indonesia takes action against mining firms after floods devastate population of world’s rarest ape 23 janvier 2026 à 06:00

Indonesia takes action against mining firms after floods devastate population of world’s rarest ape

The Guardian

Par :Gloria Dickie

23 janvier 2026 à 06:00

Conservationists hail the ‘desperately needed’ measures and urge greater protection after up to 11% of endangered Tapanuli orangutans wiped out

The floods and landslides that tore through Indonesia’s fragile Batang Toru ecosystem in November 2024 – killing up to 11% of the world’s Tapanuli orangutan population – prompted widespread scrutiny of the extractive companies operating in the area at the time of the ecological catastrophe.

For weeks, investigators searched for evidence that the companies may have damaged the Batang Toru and Garoga watersheds before the disaster, which washed torrents of mud and logs into villages, claiming the lives of more than 1,100 people.

The Guardian
Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores? 20 janvier 2026 à 12:03

Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?

The Guardian

Par :Gloria Dickie in Phuket. Photographs by Mailee Osten-Tan

20 janvier 2026 à 12:03

The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have gone

A solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand’s Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands.

About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, focused on a whirling grey shape: Miracle, the local dugong, is back.

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