The Komodo dragon ( Varanus komodoensis) is the largest living lizard species and the closest thing to a modern dinosaur that we have on our planet. They are impressive animals: they have a potentially deadly venomous bite, so getting two currently endangered Komodo dragons to mate in captivity and not kill each other in the process is a risky undertaking for both the animals and for the caregivers involved in this dangerous appointment.
Capable of eating up to 80% of their weight in one sitting and weighing up to 300 pounds (and measuring up to three meters long), these impressive creatures often eat the smallest members of their own species and sometimes even other adults, which is why their survival is so complicated.
Typically, the female Komodo dragon digs a burrow several meters long and lays her eggs, which hatch in April or May.
an unprecedented event
In Australia, they had never successfully hatched Komodo dragon eggs. Fortunately, the Australian Reptile Park has recently announced that it has welcomed three Komodo dragons into the world for the first time in the country.
It has been a very complicated task. Not only is the fertilization of eggs risky anymore, but there are many more things that can go wrong. The incubation of these eggs has lasted seven months but, fortunately, three hatchlings, of the Komodo dragons called Kraken and Daenerys, have passed the health checks and are in good condition.
They were born with just 40 centimeters in length and about 115 grams in weight , but this is only the beginning. They will grow much larger thanks to the good care of the Australian conservators and will reach between 2 and 3 meters and be as peculiar and voracious as their parents.
The Australian Reptile Park has become the first zoo in Australia to have successfully bred and hatched Komodo dragons and the last time Komodo dragons were born outside of Indonesia was in 1992 at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, USA.
According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Endangered Species, Komodo dragons are listed as “vulnerable”.
Reference: AUSTRALIAN REPTILE PARK
