The reporter, Aqilah Mohsin had interviewed her Biology teacher, Madame Mastura to view her classmate’s perspectives regarding dugong and its importance. Bellow is the interview that had been captured, exclusive just for you!
| Q | Did you know that people have mistreated the dugongs by hunting for their meat, oils, leather, bones and teeth? What do you say about this situation?
| A | I think it is very cruel of us killing animals for their meat, oil and features at the fact that these animals are on the verge of extinction. I even thought these animals had extinct because of the legends of the mermaids. We should let them live in the same way as they are letting us living our lives. We should not disturb the life cycles and the food chains because in the end, it will affect ourselves. If we disturb the dynamic equilibrium of the animals and environment, the diverse species that are linked together could not provide environmental services to human and other species.
| Q | In your opinion what are the ways we can do to prevent the dugong from extinction?
| A |From my opinion, protection acts should be made and implemented. We should help these animals breed safely without being harmed by irresponsible individuals. When these animals are capable of breeding in a safe and conductive environment, I believe the population will increase because the diverse species are linked together. At the same time, more researches should be done to investigate this issue and the best alternatives.
| Q | Why do you think we should protect the dugongs?
| A | Like I said earlier, by protecting the dugongs we are able to uphold the dynamic equilibrium of diverse species, protect its life cycle as well as preventing the food chain from being broken. These species support the interaction among other species and their ecosystem for food, shelter and other basic needs. If this species disappear, the survival of other species will be affected as their survival depends on the dugongs. Take a basic example, if you untie a knot in the centre of a chain, automatically the chain is broken. Simple as that!
Interviewed by Aqilah Mohsin
Published and edited by Ainaa Abdullah
Labels: interview
