GuardiansPress

Newborn Komodo Dragons

Apr 10, 2009 Education, News, Photos, Places, Reptiles, Wildlife

An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the arrival of 32 newborn Komodo dragons. Surabaya Zoo spokesperson Agus Pangkat says the endangered lizards -believed to number less than 4 000 in the wild – all hatched in the last two weeks. He says 14 eggs are still under observation.

He is calling it the Komodo’s most successful breeding year ever at the zoo. He said on Monday the giant reptiles have been kept at the zoo since the early 1980s, but the newborns brought their total from 34 to 66. Komodo dragons can grow up to three metres and weigh as much as 70kg. They have a bite that can be deadly and can only be found in the wild on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca.