Dugong, members of the order Sirenia, are found in abundance along the Northeast coast of Australia. Dugong feed on both shallow and deep water sea grasses and frequently inhabit the intertidal zone without stranding. Hervey Bay, on Australia's East coast, had until recently, a dugong population of approximately 1800 animals (Preen, A., Personal Comm., 1993), yet a stranding had never been reported.

In September of 1992 a live, male, juvenile dugong was found stranded on a sandy beach above the high water mark. As it was found at night in a remote area, only a cursory examination was done at first. The animal was very responsive and seemed to have a large "hole" over its left flipper. It was decided to transport the animal to a local oceanarium for further examination and treatment.

A 10cm deep abscessed wound was found in the left scapular area. Small abscesses were also noted at the base of several hairs on the muzzle. These are associated with the fluke Labicola elongate. The wound was swabbed for culture and sensitivity and then debrided and flushed with Betadine Solution1. At the time of treatment an injection of Benzathine penicillin was give intramuscularly at the rate of 25,000 IU/kg. Gentamicin sulfated2 was also given at a dose of 4.4mg/kg.

The dugong was placed in a large pool with enough water to support its weight to permit swimming, but not enough to dive. This was done to keep the wound as dry as possible. Yams and sweet potatoes were given as weather conditions prevented the harvesting of sea grass and a small amount of yam was consumed.

The bacterial culture revealed Clostridium sp. that was sensitive to penicillin. The wound was debrided daily for 5 days and the penicillin was continued once daily. Since no reliable source of feed was available and the wound was healing well, it was decided to release the animal.