I had the pleasure of encountering that same frustrated dugong back in '88. I was only 8 years old at the time, and it scared the living daylights out of me. It would swim up and bunt you out of the water with its nose. The locals were terrified of it, as were their dogs which they throw in with the cabbages that they feed it. Amazing island Tanna - when we visited they were still waiting for the promised return of John From, a revered yank who visited their island in the second world war! Their school had 2 or 3 old books about irrelevant economics, so we gave them a box of children's stories, a USA flag (which they insisted on receiving with ceremony) and most of a 7 foot marlin in return for vegetables.
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October 20th, 2003
Dugong Love
