Dugong

Photo: Martin Kostal · © all rights reserved

Dugongs visit Marsa Mubarak's seagrass beds periodically, particularly in the cooler months when Abu Dabbab Bay's human boat traffic increases. Their feeding trails — distinctive U-shaped furrows in the sandy seabed — are often visible even when the animals themselves are resting out of sight. Patient divers who arrive early and enter the water calmly have the best chance of observing a dugong grazing without disturbing it into a defensive retreat.