DPA/Jakarta
Seven Komodo dragons, which are listed as a threatened species, hatched at a zoo in Indonesia’s second-largest city, Surabaya, an official said yesterday.
The lizards hatched last week after 21 eggs from two females aged 10 and 7 were artificially incubated, zoo spokesman Anthan Warsito said.
The zoo has artificially incubated Komodo dragon eggs for years.
The facility is now home to nearly 63 of the large lizards, he said.
The Komodo dragon, the world’s largest monitor lizard, is categorised as a vulnerable species, meaning that it is likely to become endangered unless reproduction improves.
An estimated 5,000 Komodo dragons live in the Komodo National Park and its surrounding areas in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, about 1,600 kilometres east of Jakarta.
Komodo dragons are known to be aggressive, but fatal attacks on humans are rare.