And just a year ago they came across the first of the surprises: Juanito, the first-born, was born. In the days after this hatching, Fénix, Embum, Drakaris and Saya followed. These five small Komodo dragons became the first to be born in Spain in the last ten years, and the fifth successful hatching of this species in all of Europe. This week they celebrate their first year of life and the evolution to date has been extraordinary.
From the moment they were born, the babies live separately from their parents and completely independently, just as happens in nature. This behavior has been respected, keeping the little ones in separate terrariums during their first months of life. Throughout this time, the team of caregivers has closely monitored the diet of each one of them, their health and behaviors, detecting the characteristics of each one to move on to the next phase: the beginning of their coexistence.
With about 300 gr. in weight and 65 cm in length, they coexist peacefully
“First we proceeded to put them together two by two, leaving Juanito in a separate terrarium, since his needs are special and different from the rest of the brothers. The next step is to bring together Phoenix, Embum, Drakaris and Saya in the same terrarium. So far the coexistence is peaceful, except for some meetings over food. Something normal"explains Milagros Robledo, head of Herpetology at BIOPARC Fuengirola.
Once this coexistence is successful, everyone They will move to a single terrarium that is currently under construction. This enclosure has been created expressly for the Komodo dragon babies and is located in the new expansion that in a few months aims to complete and inaugurate the Malaga conservation center. This terrarium will cover all the needs of these small reptiles. “They need high areas to climb, since in their first years they are very arboreal, humid areas to bathe, light and holes to hide. Therefore, the new terrarium will have high branches, and a lot of vegetation and humidity.”
Juanito and his unborn twin
The first hatching of the first egg was accompanied by another surprise: During the almost eight months of incubation, Juanito had not been alone, but grew up with another little one, his twin. Although in the end it did not hatch alive, it developed almost completely, which allowed the Veterinary and Herpetology team to study the malformations that this twin presented and thus be able to delve deeper into the possible causes of his death.
A milestone within the European conservation program for this species
This great milestone has been the result of copulations between Reo and Ora, the pair of adult Komodo dragons that live in the park, and of the long work carried out by the Herpetology and Veterinary team during the previous years. The little dragons were the survivors of a clutch of twelve eggs that, after being recovered from the female's facility by the Herpetology team, were artificially incubated for almost nine months in order to guarantee the maximum number of births.
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. Currently, BIOPARC Fuengirola houses a female and a male, Ora and Reo, and their five offspring Juanito, Fénix, Embum, Drakaris and Saya.
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, of which 220 are 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.
