Saturday, August 28, 2010

22 Baby Komodo at L.A Zoo

This morning I read a very wonderful news on the L.A Times blog (below) about the newly hatched 22 baby Komodo at a Zoo in Los Angeles, U.S.A

I hope that this success will also be followed by other Zoo, especially in their natural habitat in the Island of Komodo, Indonesia, so that the numbers of Komodo would increase.

It's a boy! It's a girl! It's ... 22 baby Komodo dragons?

Komodo dragons
Big news for endangered, giant reptile enthusiasts: 22 Komodo dragons have hatched at the L.A. Zoo since Aug. 8, all offspring of a single female.

Lima, the babies' mother, laid 23 eggs in January. This is the first time the L.A. Zoo has successfully bred Komodo dragons, and it's one of only a handful of zoos in North America that has managed to do so. The hatchlings aren't currently being exhibited for the public, but the zoo expects to eventually move some of them to its Winnick Family Children's Zoo. Eleven of them will eventually move to Ohio's Columbus Zoo, a zoo curator told the Associated Press, and experts with the Assn. of Zoos & Aquariums' Species Survival Plan program will determine where the rest of the babies end up.

Komodo dragon hatchlings typically measure between 14 and 20 inches in length and weigh between 3 and 4 ounces. As adults, they'll weigh up to 200 pounds and can measure as long as 10 feet!

The species is native to a few islands in Indonesia, notably (and perhaps unsurprisingly) Komodo Island. They're extremely effective predators that can fell even a huge water buffalo with their serrated teeth and run up to 13 miles per hour in short bursts. These are important skills for a giant reptile to have, since they can eat 80% of their body weight in a single sitting.

Last year, a research team using magnetic resonance imaging scans discovered that Komodos produce a powerful venom that prevents the blood of a bitten animal from clotting properly. That typically sends the animal into shock and hastens its death, if the force of the Komodo's bite doesn't kill it first. The venom, one expert told the Times of London, makes the Komodo "an amazing killing machine." It also makes it an animal you don't want to run into in a dark alley -- one of the best reasons, in our opinion, to never move to Komodo Island, where you might actually run into one.

10 comments:

YaGIlrNextDoor said...

This is a cool picture. Sorry it took me so long to stop by been busy. Keep up the blogging.

ASPeMusik said...

waow twins. assets that are endangered

colson said...

Good news indeed.

However this line in the L.A. Times blog about the ferociousness and aggressiveness of this predator being "reasons, in our opinion, to never move to Komodo Island", makes me curious and is kind of a challenge.

Perhaps I should include Komodo Island in 'places to visit'.

Unknown said...

@YaGIIlNextDoior,
Cute photo indeed. Thank you for your visit and comment.

@ASPeMusik,
Yes, the Komodo is our endangered assets. Thank you for following on Google Friend Connect.

@Colson,
This is clearly a challenge for the government who is trying hard to make Komodo Island as one of the new 7 wonders of the world.

Anonymous said...

Nice post about Komodo Dragon....

Unknown said...

Anonymous,
Thank you, but I wish that you have mentioned your name/blog so that we can be friends.

Yari NK said...

While the endangered species like this Komodo dragons proliferate in the L.A. zoo, the opposite case has happened in an Indonesian zoo. Yesterday, I saw a pic on Kompas daily displaying dead lion and joey. The lion is so skinny it seems that they died of meagre diet and poor management.

I'm so grieved to see that view. I hope that our zoos in the future will become the safest place for those endangered animals to breed...

Unknown said...

Hi Yari,
The death of lion and kangaroo as well as hundreds of others at the Surabaya Zoo is a humiliation for Indonesia, considering that most zoos here under government control. It shows as if we are not able to take care nature in general and endangered species in particular.

Unknown said...

Thats good news for a species that must be threatened. Vicious animals!


peter

Unknown said...

Peter,
Yes it is a very good news for the Komodo as endangered species.