Payuun

In Thailand, an unlikely friendship develops between two dugongs and an amateur conservationist trying to save them

In 2024, 41 dead dugongs (or payuun in Thai) washed up on Thai shores. Experts predict that there are less than 70 left in the country. Why? Thailand's coastal seagrass patches - the dugongs’ main food source - are vanishing fast, and Thailand is the first country in the world where a definitive link between climate change, seagrass, and dugong death is being made. Limited seagrass is also impacting dugongs’ migratory patterns. Before late 2024, dugongs were almost never seen in unprotected areas such as Phuket. For months, Theerasak “Pop” Saksritawee, an amateur conservationist, has been closely monitoring two dugongs in particular who have chosen to settle temporarily in Tang Khen Bay. Pop has fondly named them Miracle and Jingjok. This short documentary follows Pop as he attempts to save some of Thailand’s last remaining dugongs.

Shot for The Guardian Documentaries, supported by The Pulizer Center.

Release date: October 2025

Credits

Director / Producer | Mailee Osten-Tan
Director of Photography | Nicolas Axelrod
Additional Cinematography | Theerasak Saksritawee
Editor | Mailee Osten-Tan
Primary Field Producer | Janjira Lintong
Secondary Field Producer | Jirada Sanguanwong
Research Assistant | Kanokwan Wimhonkhajonsiri
Translation | Janjira Lintong, Kanokwan Wimhonkhajonsiri, Mai Nardone, Ratanapa Puangrat, Nantawan Wangudomsuk
Colour | Klover Colour Studio Grant
Original Music | Pongsathorn Posayanonth
Sound design | Tada Mitrevej