A Dugong and Her Calf Off Marsa Alam, a Whale Shark Off Hurghada - and the Same Rule for Both: Don't Touch
Divers filmed a dugong and her calf off Marsa Alam on Friday morning, while a whale shark turned up in Hurghada's waters the same day. Red Sea Protectorates say the shark is harmless - but keep your distance from both.
24 September 2026
Two rare animals showed up in the coast's water on the same day. Divers off Marsa Alam filmed a dugong and her calf on Friday morning, and a whale shark appeared in Hurghada's waters, according to Cairo 24, Masrawy, Youm7 and Sada El-Balad.
The dugong - the sea cow that gives the Arabic name "bride of the sea" - drew divers and foreign tourists who stopped to watch the pair and photograph them. Dugongs are an endangered marine mammal, protected in Egyptian waters, where hunting or interfering with them is prohibited.
Dr Mahmoud Dar, former director of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, said a dugong appearing in Red Sea water is a sign the marine environment is healthy and that conditions still suit the animal well enough for it to breed. He gave some detail on the species:
- they can live to around 70 years
- adults are usually 2.5 to 3 metres long
- they live in relatively shallow water where seagrass grows, feeding on it with their large lips
- they move in pairs or small groups, and a female usually has a single calf, which stays close to her through its early growth
Because they eat seagrass, Dar said, their presence is tied directly to the health of the meadows they graze - which is why a mother and calf together is the encouraging part of this sighting.
The whale shark is not the danger it looks
The whale shark was spotted from a boat trip off Hurghada. Red Sea Protectorates said the animal is peaceful by nature, poses no danger to people, and that its appearance here is a natural event that recurs in different seasons.
Despite its size, it is not a predator: it feeds by filtering plankton and tiny organisms from the water. The protectorates' guidance is to keep a safe distance, not to touch it, chase it or try to change its course, and not to crowd it for photographs.
That is the same message this site reported on 4 September, when rangers asked visitors not to touch the whale sharks then being seen repeatedly off Hurghada and Marsa Alam. It is also the thinking behind the governor's move, reported this month, to set capacity limits for the speedboats running dolphin-watching trips.
If you are on a boat this week and something large surfaces alongside it, the whole of the official advice comes down to one thing: look, and leave it alone.