Calgary Zoo debuts four young Komodo dragons
Posted Aug 28, 2014 1:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Four new Komodo dragons are out to play at the Calgary Zoo!
It’s the second addition to the zoo this week.
Monday two bear cubs made their journey from the Yukon to Calgary; Thursday the baby Komodo dragons made their official debut at the Eurasian Gateway building.
The youngsters are eight months old and about the size of a puppy with an extra-long tail.
They came from the Colchester Zoo in the U.K.
At this stage Loka, the zoo’s full grown 28-year-old Komodo, and the little ones are in separate rooms because she would view them as prey.
They are new to their enclosure, but they aren’t too timid.
“They’re very active, they are really interested in people! When people come up to the glass and they see them, they are look for them they are interacting they’re not shy at all, but you kind of have to look for them. Some are up in the glass, some will be up in the branches, and they are very camouflaged,” explains Curator Colleen Baird, who adds if you don’t see one right away to be patient and keep searching.
One helpful tip, look up!
“The little guys like to high places and be protected because the bigger Komodos stay on the ground and that’s where they know they’re safe” Baird said.
Full grown Komodos view babies as prey, which is why Loka will remain separate from the kids for quite some time.
It will be four to six years before they are fully grown.
When they are all grown up, some of the dragons might be relocated to other North American zoos to mix up the gene pool for breeding purposes.
