12:00a.m. 1st October 2008

Sailors apparently used to mistake dugongs for mermaids.

But not surprisingly, there were not too many takers stepping up to resuscitate the dugong washed up near Ocean Beach caravan park at Mooloolaba yesterday afternoon.

Not the most glamorous creature in the ocean, and well-dead, the carcass was likely blown in by the south-easterly winds, Underwater World curator Rob Mort said.

Mr Mort said the animal, which he said looked to be a mature female, appeared to have been dead for some time and displayed no signs of injury.

“There were the usual mating signs, the scratches that they get along the sides of the body,” Mr Mort said.

“There were no signs of a boat strike.”

The body was transported to the Australian Wildlife Hospital at Beerwah for a post mortem this morning.