Agents responsible for monitoring the last remaining dugongs in Mayotte, a small island in the Indian Ocean, are struggling to locate the species. Dugongs, which are distant relatives of manatees and among the largest marine mammals in French waters, are becoming increasingly rare in the region. The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) reports that local naturalists sometimes find no dugongs at all during their searches, despite spending hours scanning seagrass beds and monitoring areas where the animals are usually seen. Estimates suggest that fewer than 15 dugongs now live in the Mayotte lagoon, a sharp decline from over a hundred in the 1970s. Some studies even suggest the population may be as low as six individuals. The decline of the Mayotte dugong population has been ongoing for several decades, with excessive fishing playing a major role. Although the species has been protected since 1995, and regulations were strengthened in 1997 to control net use in the lagoon, these efforts prevented a complete extinction but failed to reverse the downward trend. In 2015, a poacher killed one of the last known dugongs in the area, despite the species having been protected for nearly 20 years. This event underscored the vulnerability of the remaining population. Additional threats continue to impact the species, including accidental entanglement in fishing nets, increased maritime traffic, noise pollution from ships, and the degradation of their habitat. The seagrass beds that form the primary diet of dugongs are being harmed by the slow accumulation of silt in the lagoon, which is linked to coastal erosion and poor water quality. Even when a dugong survives these dangers, it must find enough food in an environment that is becoming less hospitable. To better understand the situation, scientists have partnered with the Mayotte University Training and Research Center to use a technique called environmental DNA analysis. This involves collecting water samples from the lagoon, which contain genetic material shed by the animals living there. This method allows researchers to confirm the presence of dugongs without directly observing them, helping to map the areas they frequent more accurately. Despite the challenges, there is some encouraging news: since 2002, mother-calf pairs have been reported every year, indicating that reproduction continues. Female dugongs reach sexual maturity between 10 and 17 years and give birth to a single calf roughly every seven years. This slow reproductive cycle makes the population extremely vulnerable, as the loss of even one adult can have serious consequences for the future of the species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the subpopulation of dugongs in the southwest Indian Ocean as endangered. Conservation efforts now focus on several key strategies, including better monitoring of the lagoon, restoring seagrass beds, reducing noise pollution from maritime traffic, and developing new monitoring techniques like environmental DNA. These actions, carried out by the OFB and local naturalists, aim to give the tiny population the best chance to stabilize or grow. However, the process is slow, as dugongs reproduce at a low rate and environmental threats remain a significant challenge in the Mayotte lagoon.