What year did the mermaid go extinct?

The mermaid has been declared functionally extinct in China, last seen in 2008, and since then there have been no records of mermaids in China. The mermaid’s prototype is an animal called the dugong, which has a whale-like tail and must surface regularly to breathe, and is thought to inspire the ancient mermaid and siren legends.

But due to habitat destruction and poaching, the dugong is functionally extinct in China. Today, the remaining dugongs are concentrated mainly in Australia.