Silhouetted Dugong Stirring Seagrass in Japan

Copper-toned light falls through exceptionally clear water, illuminating a dugong silhouetted against the bright surface. The marine mammal moves slowly along a coastal seagrass channel in late spring Japan, its dark body against the glowing orange depths. A distinct trail of stirred sand rises behind it, clouding the substrate where the seagrass roots anchor. Gentle surface ripples drift across the top, distorting the light into shifting patterns below. Fine sediment particles float in the current, catching the low-angle sun. The dugong's flippers cut through the water, disturbing the flat bed of green blades beneath. One plume of disturbed sand trails along the ocean floor.