Found: Malaysia's #NationalMarineAnimal

Malaysia has been a sovereign nation for 57 years. And while the National Animal of Malaysia is arguably the Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), there is no recognized #NationalMarineAnimal.

Well that didn’t last too long this Merdeka month; not on our watch.

Nominations were first accepted from all Malaysians for a period of 1 week. The eight species that received the most nominations graduated to the elimination round. These were (in no particular order):

1. Dugong (Dugong dugon);

2. Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas);

3. Staghorn Coral (Acropora sp.);

4. Small Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima);

5. Indopacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa chinensis);

6. Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea);

7. Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus); and

8. Yellow seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)

The eight species were then randomly matched to each other, which pretty much looked like this:

After 7 rounds of intense and passionate voting, the gentle dugong was crowned Malaysia’s #NationalMarineAnimal edging the charismatic Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin.