In March, BIOPARC Fuengirola announced one of the most important milestones in the conservation work carried out within the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) of the Komodo dragon: five offspring of this large monitor were born, after eight months of incubation and almost two years of preparations. And this week, Juanito, Fénix, Drakaris, Embum and Saya, these little Komodo dragons, turn 6 months old.
During these months, The Herpetology and Veterinary team have worked to completely guarantee the well-being of the monitors. Although for now they remain in indoor areas where they control all their needs and ensure everyone's development, last June visitors were able to meet some of them. After numerous requests, the animal park set up a temporary outdoor terrarium in which to contemplate these dragons, an event in which the members of the Herpetology team responsible for their care were able to resolve the doubts and concerns of interested people.
On the occasion of this sixth “birthday” BIOPARC Fuengirola will once again enable an outdoor terrarium so that people who visit the park next Thursday, August 10, can meet 'Juanito', the first to be born and the one that causes the most interest among visitors. This special meeting will take place starting at 12:30 that day, in the Indo-Pacific area, next to the male Komodo dragon installation.
Personalized care and controlled feeding to guarantee the growth of the five monitors during the first year of life
During these months of life, they have been Care and feeding controlled by caregivers are essential for the correct development of the offspring.. “At all times we monitor their growth, detect their needs and monitor their diet. To do this, we feed each of them individually. This control will allow us to continue monitoring when they live in their final terrariums and coexist with each other because they will be used to it,” explains Milagros Robledo, head of Herpetology.
Despite all this monitoring and feeding, the growth of these little ones is very gradual. “In these six months they have only grown an average of 6 centimeters, and between 6 to 10 grams in weight. It is a growth that is usually quite slow.”
Now, each of them lives in separate terrariums, but little by little the Herpetology team will proceed to bring them together taking into account sizes, characters of each one and affinities. Once these unions are successful, the five will be brought together in the same space. To this end, BIOPARC Fuengirola is already working on the construction of a definitive facility for these small Komodo dragons.
In these weeks, the technical team has also proceeded to take samples of the saliva of these little ones with the intention of analyzing it and being able to know the sex of each specimen, a fact that they still do not know. Now, they await the results of these analyzes with great interest.
1 year since Ora, the female Komodo dragon, lays eggs
On August 3 of last year, the female Komodo dragon that lives in BIOPARC Fuengirola laid twelve eggs, the result of copulation with Reo, the male. That day, veterinarians and members of the Herpetology team detected that Ora's behavior was changing. A little more nervous than usual, she kept accumulating soil in one of the planters in her installation. She looked like she was hiding something and that's just who she was. Ora showed a common attitude in females who have just laid a lay. First, she dug a deep nest and then, she proceeded to lay the eggs. After this, she covered the cavity created and hid it again with earth. A laborious maneuver that resulted in a pleasant surprise for the team at the Malaga conservation center. Among this dozen eggs were Juanito, Fénix, Drakaris, Embum and Saya, the little ones who turned six months old this week.
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, and of them, 220 in conservation centers belonging to the EAZA. In the wild, they can be found on the island of Flores, Komodo, Rinca, Nusa Kode, Gili Dasame 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 and contribute to the protection of their habitat and the 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.
