Mon March 18, 2013 Indonesian Zoo Breeds Rare Komodo Dragons A
zoo in Indonesia is now home to seven bouncing baby Komodo
dragons. Before you recoil in disgust, have a look at this video
from the BBC — "cute" may not be the operative word, but the
hatchlings do exude a certain endearing quality. The births took
place last week at Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia's East Java
province, where an artificial breeding program has been under
way in an effort to propagate the species of giant monitor
lizard, the world's largest. Komodo dragons are considered
especially at risk because they inhabit just a few tiny islands
in the Indonesian archipelago. Only about 4,000 to 5,000 of them
are believed to be alive. The hatchlings born at Surabaya
currently weigh about 5 ounces each. As adults they could reach
10 feet in length and tip the scales at 300 pounds, according to
National Geographic. Their enormous size is attributed to an
evolutionary phenomenon known as island gigantism. NatGeo
observes that in their native habitat,