‘The Dugongs of Bazaruto’, is now available for download on the Dugong & Seagrass Hub.

Written by Ruth H. Leeney and illustrated by Ruth H. Leeney & Owen Williams (2021), ‘The Dugongs of Bazaruto’ is an educational book about dugongs and their main habitat in Mozambique – the Bazaruto Archipelago and surrounding waters.

Whilst working as the Research Coordinator for Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, an area designated to protect East Africa’s last viable population of dugong, Ruth Leeney recognized a lack of education and awareness-raising materials about dugongs available to the local communities living in and around the park. Seeing an opportunity, Ruth decided to write a book to educate and engage local people in dugong protection.

‘The Dugongs of Bazaruto’ provides basic facts about dugongs, such as how long they live and what they eat, and explains the main threats to dugongs, why they should be protected in Mozambican waters, and what local communities can do to help protect them.

The book is accessible to people of all ages and reading abilities. Portuguese language copies of the book will be distributed to communities on the Bazaruto Archipelago and the surrounding mainland region by conservation NGOs, and a teacher’s guide with suggestions for further learning activities for school pupils has also been developed.

Save Our Seas Foundation has supported the costs of printing and distributing the book. It should not be reprinted without the permission of the author.

Download a copy of the book in English

Download a copy of the book in Portuguese