On March 28, a zoo called Bioparc Fuengirola in Spain reported the first successful breeding of Komodo dragons in a decade. Komodo dragons are the largest species of lizard in the world and are currently endangered. The process of breeding Komodo dragons in captivity is a lengthy process. The thirteen-year-old female named Ora laid a dozen eggs last August and five were picked in order to be incubated and monitored for seven months. All five of the eggs successfully hatched and are currently being taken care of at the zoo. The newborns are small in size now but could grow up to almost 10 feet in length and weigh up to 150 pounds. They will also have sharp teeth and a venomous bite to help with catching prey. Below is a picture of one of the baby dragons that was born and was named Drakaris. Drakaris's name is a reference to George R.R. Martin's fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire". Three of the four other dragons were named Juanito, Fenix, and Embum. If Drakaris and its siblings were born in the wild they would spend their time in the treetops with no parental care. At the zoo though they are being monitored by vets in separate terrariums until they are ready to be reunited and put on display for the public to see.
The Komodo dragons were added to the ICUN red list in 2021 since only about 1,500 specimens remain. They are limited to a few islands in Indonesia including Rintja, Padar, Flores, and the largest island Komodo which is 22 miles long. These lizards have sturdy limbs which allow them to briefly run up to speeds of 13 miles per hour. Their jaw and throat muscles give them the ability to swallow large pieces of meat at a fast rate. They can easily expand and contract their stomach to eat up to 80 percent of their body weight and throw up food when threatened to help them run away. When it comes to telling the difference between a male and a female it is very difficult to do this since they lack any traits besides males sometimes being larger. (Smithsonian's National Zoo)
Komodo dragons are apex predators which makes them important to the environment's food chain by keeping it balanced. This is another reason why work like this is important to help increase their population numbers in the wild. Overall I enjoyed this article, it was straight to the point and easy to read. The article also lacked any biases and the intended audience was clearly the general public. I believe this article will help bring more awareness to the current situation of Komodo dragons and hopefully bring more support to help with this cause.
1 comment:
Thanks for bringing this news story to our attention! What are the conservation implications of this event?
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