WONG:
It was a special day at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia today. It was the second time that zookeepers have succeeded in hatching the eggs of the rare Komodo Dragon outside its natural habitat. Let’s take a look.

STORY:
Zookeepers at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia’s East Java keep a close eye on the latest batch of eggs in the zoo’s incubator room. The eggs belong to the world’s largest living lizard – the Komodo Dragon.

The dragons are native to Indonesia and with only 5,000 left in the world, the species is endangered.

It’s the second time that zookeepers have succeeded in hatching the eggs outside of their natural habitat.

[Nur Ali Faisol, Surabaya Zoo]:
“We collected all the eggs in September 2007 from the Komodo cages, and now fourteen eggs have already hatched while one has failed to hatch.”

Don’t let the size of these babies fool you – once fully grown they can weigh up to 100kg (220 pounds) and measure more than three meters (10ft) in length. Adult Komodo Dragons prey on animals such as pig and deer. They have even been known to eat adult water buffalo.

As the species continues to be threatened, the efforts of the zookeepers at Surabaya Zoo are not wasted in ensuring the survival of the species.
reptile supplies

Because of its large size and habit of sleeping in these burrows, it is able to conserve body heat throughout the night and minimize its basking period the morning after.