Dugong at Uluwatu Beach, Bali (Indonesia)

Posted by Paul Carter

SUMMARY: Uluwatu Beach is a popular surf spot about 1.5 km north of Uluwatu Temple on the Bukit Peninsula (Bali). Whilst surfing here in January 2004 and waiting in the line-up (small surf, only about 3-foot) I saw the back of a Dugong (Dugong dugon) break the surface, about 15 meters away. An hour later when back on the cliff-top I looked down and had clear views of it feeding on the seagrass.

Fast-forward 17 years to July 2021 and I was watching a YouTube surf video on 10-15 foot waves at the same spot and at 1:32 they cut to good views of a dugong surfacing close to shore. A search on YouTube showed other dugong clips from the same area (links shown below). These sightings motivated me to write this short post because Dugong are mentioned in any other Bali mammal-watching trip reports and it appears that Uluwatu might be a reliable place to search for them.
This cliff-top site is also marked on google maps as “Blue Point Beach”, Pecatu, South Kuta, Badung Regency. Wave height does not seem to be a significant concern when they are feeding close to shore.
I have not been to “Delpi Cafe” or “Single Fin Bali” but these and nearby cliff-side restaurants should be a good place to scan from. Uluwatu Cave is more of a deep crevice that surfers walk through to access the waves; there is no bat potential.
iNat (July 2022) shows three dugong sightings in the area but not with precise locations; they probably refer to this site.

YouTube links showing Dugong:

  1. Dugong at 1:26 in “Waves And Wildlife – Uluwatu – Surfing Bali” dated 9 July 2020: link.
  2. Dugong at 1:15 in “Waves And Wildlife – Uluwatu – Surfing Bali” dated 11 July 2020: link.
  3. Dugong at 0:01 in “Plus Size Water Patrol – Uluwatu, 20 August 2020”: link.
  4. Dugong at 1:32-1:40 in “10-15 feet Waves at Uluwatu – RAWFILES – 4k” (15 July 2021): link.

Dugong at other sites:
Dugong are also reported from Nyang Nyang Beach southeast of Uluwatu Temple, and Serangan?:

  1. Dugong at Serangan? dated 29 Oct 2024 – link.

Paul Carter: paulcarter@pacapix.com
Posted: 12 July 2022, updated 23 Dec 2024.