400 



MANATEES 



tans, whose religion bans the pig, esteem the flesh of the 

 porky marine mammal as a great delicacy. The Malays 

 view the creature as a ' royal fish/ just as we still do 

 the sturgeon, and the native Kings claim all that are 

 captured within their territories. i When cured, the flesh is 

 considered in Queensland a relishing article of diet for the 

 breakfast table, having the flavour of good bacon with just 

 an agreeable "bloater" twang added. The tail, which is 

 very fat, is much esteemed, and is generally soused or 

 pickled.' The Dugong yields a particularly clear oil, the 

 commercial value of which gives rise to important fisheries, 

 especially in Australia, that threaten to exterminate the 

 creature. The skin can be dressed into useful leather. A 

 German writer has attempted to prove that the Tabernacle 

 of the Israelites was roofed with Dugong skin. As the 

 animal is found in the Red Sea it was possible for it to 

 have been put to such a use. Further than that we cannot 

 decide. 



One species, the Rhytina, which was the real Sea Cow, 

 attained a length of twenty feet. In the comparatively short 

 period of thirty years it was swept off the face of the earth 

 in the unceasing pursuit of the creature for the sake of 

 its oil. 



