Stray dugong saved in herculean rescue will be flown to Queensland by RAAF

Crowds cheer as ailing marine animal successfully netted in Merimbula Lake from where it will be airlifted to its Queensland home

A stray dugong on the NSW south coast has been successfully netted after the massive inter-agency effort to rescue it overcame a series of setbacks, and will be flown to Queensland by RAAF Hercules.

Watching crowds cheered as the 2.75m male dugong was captured by a team of more than 20 people on Thursday morning, said Shona Lorigan of the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (Orrca).