• After a successful copulation and an artificial incubation that lasted almost eight months, Reo and Ora have become parents of these five small monitors that will reach 2,5 meters in length and 70kg in weight.
• These births place Bioparc Fuengirola as the only center that has achieved reproduction in Spain in the last ten years

Last summer, veterinarians and members of the Bioparc Fuengirola Herpetology team detected that the behavior of the female Komodo dragon was changing. After a laborious copulation with the male, Ora seemed more restless than usual and this had an explanation: a large clutch of twelve eggs.

This fact marked a milestone in the conservation work that the park carries out within the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) of this great monitor. Eight months later and after a long and controlled incubation of these eggs, BIOPARC Fuengirola announces the first successful reproduction of the species in the park, with the birth of five Komodo dragon babies.

“The success of laying, incubation and the expected hatching not only represents a hopeful future for this threatened species, but also demonstrates how necessary the work we carry out in our center is.. From the first moment, we have guaranteed the well-being of both reptiles and now also of their offspring. For everyone, it is undoubtedly a great achievement,” explains Milagros Robledo, head of Herpetology at BIOPARC Fuengirola.

The only center that, in the last ten years, has achieved the reproduction of this monitor in Spain

The hatching of these small Komodo dragons places the Malaga animal park in a European benchmark. It is the only center that, in the last ten years, has managed to reproduce this monitor in Spain and the fifth in Europe.

During these almost eight months of incubation, the team has carried out almost daily monitoring of the eggs. Every week, both the temperature and humidity of the incubation facilities were regulated, guaranteeing a suitable environment for the development of the embryos and simulating the possible seasonal variations to which they could be exposed in their habitat. At the beginning of March, this controlled process ended with the hatching of the first of the babies called 'Juanito'. She was followed by Fénix, Embum, Drakaris and Saya. Finally, Reo and Ora are parents.

“After the eggs broke, we carefully monitored each one of them so that everything went well. The largest ones came out of the egg alone, the smallest ones needed help to get out because they were still attached to the yolk. The babies have weights ranging from 50 to 120 grams, and measurements from 30 to 44 centimeters,” highlights Robledo.

As happens in the natural habitat of this species, from the moment they are born, the babies live separately from their parents and completely independently. This behavior is respected, keeping the little ones in separate terrariums. During these first weeks of life, the team of caregivers must closely monitor the diet of each one of them, and their state of health.

BIOPARC Fuengirola is one of the 30 zoos that are part of the EEP for this species, coordinated by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Within these conservation programs, collaboration between all participating centers is essential, sharing experiences and impressions about processes such as, for example, this long incubation. Also, the activity carried out by each of them follows the guidelines indicated by the coordinator of each EEP.

“Although the initial clutch was twelve eggs, in the end only five of them were viable. A figure that coincides with the recommendation of the EEP coordinator. This decision guarantees the genetic variability of the Komodo dragons and strengthens these reptiles in the event that, in the future, it is necessary to reintroduce them into their habitat,” explains Jesús Recuero, technical director, veterinarian and conservator of BIOPARC Fuengirola.

The Komodo dragon: a species in serious danger of extinction with only 1.500 specimens worldwide

Komodo dragons are in danger of extinction. Currently, there are only about 1.500 copies worldwide, 220 in conservation centers belonging to the EAZA. In the wild, they can be found on the island of Flores, Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Nusa Kode and Gili Motang.

Since 2009, BIOPARC Fuengirola and the BIOPARC Foundation have been working on the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) of the Komodo dragon both 'ex situ' in its facilities and 'in-situ' on the island of Flores under the Komodo Survival Program project. Through this, the participating centers work by monitoring the specimens that live on the island, contributing to the protection of their habitat and raising awareness of the local community.

In the last 15 years the dragon population has been reduced by 25% due to the burning of a large part of the forest where they live and due to poaching. Currently, to all this is added the huge accumulation of waste that are transported by ocean currents and that end up on the islands where these primitive and large monitors live.

And this is what the colleagues of the Herpetology team have experienced: