A dugong swims in the new Mermaid Lagoon display at the Sydney Aquarium in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 during the introduction of two dugongs. It is said that dugongs, an aboriginal word meaning young child, in olden times were mistakenly identified as mermaids to mariners that had been at sea for a long time.
Isabelle, 1 and a half year old, is the first Sydneysider to see 'Wuru' the dugong (Dugong dugon) in the new Mermaid Lagoon exhibit at Sydney Aquarium on December 19, 2008. The 1.7 million litre tropical water habitat features two of the herbivorous marine mammals which normally live in Australia's northern coastal waters
'Pig' the dugong (Dugong dugon) aquaints himself with the new Mermaid Lagoon exhibit at Sydney Aquarium on December 19, 2008. The 1.7 million litre tropical water habitat features two of the sirenian marine mammals which normally feed off sea grass in Australia's northern coastal waters. It is believed that mermaid myths were born from pirates and sailors sighting dugongs
