Provincial Distribution Data Supporting “Collective Memory Distortion in the Context of Species Loss: A Case Study of the Dugong in China”

This dataset contains province-level counts of direct and vicarious dugong-related experiences, classified by second-level experience categories. The data were compiled from social media comments associated with public discussion of the functional extinction of dugongs in China. The dataset includes two sheets: one summarizing direct experiences, such as zoo or aquarium observations, wild or natural encounters, consumption experiences, observations of deceased individuals, and other direct experiences; and another summarizing vicarious experiences, including literature, film and animation, educational materials, social media and campaigns, regional culture and oral histories, games and popular culture, and other sources. These data support the analysis of spatial patterns in collective memory and public experiential narratives related to dugong loss in China.