Komodo breeding program breeds success and problems

By Tarko Sudiarno and Nugroho CH

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The success story of Yogyakarta's Gembira Loka Zoo in becoming the world's pioneer and the leading site for captive breeding of the Komodo dragon is a result of some good fortune.

The zoo received from the government nine adult Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) -- four males and five females -- in 1992 that had been taken from their natural habitat of Komodo island, East Nusa Tenggara.

Two years later, the zoo's staff stumbled on eight newly hatched Komodo dragons.

The newborn dragons were greeted with confusion since none of the zoo's officials had any experience in taking care or raising them. Ultimately, only one survived (it is now found at Taman Safari, Bogor).

Failure is the best teacher. The Gembira Loka Zoo management was determined not to repeat its mistakes. It built camps near the Komodo dragons' enclosure, with some employees living in the camps to monitor the rare reptiles' activities day and night.

Three months later, in July 1994, the zoo witnessed the hatching of 20 new Komodo dragons.

Unlike the first batch, the new baby dragons were taken away immediately and placed in special quarantine, separated from their mothers.

The zoo's assistant director of operations, Suwito Wongsodihardjo, said, "If they had not been separated, they would certainly have been eaten by their mothers. Komodos are cannibals. That is why in their natural habitat, newly hatched Komodo dragons will climb up trees or go into water to avoid being eaten by their mothers."

The zoo's efforts were fruitful. Out of the 20 newly hatched dragons, 18 survived. When they were two years old, the dragons were distributed to several other zoos and parks, including Taman Safari; Crocodile Park and Bird Garden, Denpasar; Bukit Tinggi Zoo, West Sumatra; and even to some zoos in Singapore and Australia.

"Those delivered to Singapore and Australia were exchanged for other animals. Komodo dragons are rare animals, they can't be traded. Locally, they are given away (to zoos or parks) for free but the transportation fees are paid by those receiving the dragons. There's no point in us keeping all the dragons here if other zoos can also take care of and raise them," Suwito said.

Soon, the dragons' breeding program was no longer a problem for Gembira Loka Zoo.

By 1998, the zoo had 120 dragons from nine mothers. Of the 120, 60 can still be found at the zoo, while the remaining 60 have been distributed to many places in Indonesia as well as to Australia, Canada, France, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United States and South Africa.

The zoo's success has placed it as the world's biggest breeding site of the Komodo dragon outside its natural habitat. In May 1999, another 18 dragons hatched.

"I read that Komodo dragons will only lay eggs after they are seven years old. It turned out here that they lay eggs after they turn five," Suwito said.

Problems

The zoo's success has, however, caused a new problem. At the heart of it is a lack of funds to take care of the rare species. Meanwhile, the dragons keep laying eggs, and stopping them, it seems, is impossible.

At Gembira Loka Zoo, adult dragons are housed in an enclosure which has been created to resemble their natural habitat. This way, the zoo's staff will never really know how many eggs are being laid and hidden in the sand.

Trading Komodo dragons, including those from captive breeding programs, is against the law. An adult dragon can fetch Rp 300 million on the black market.

One of the ways used by the zoo's management to reduce the number of dragons under its care is by giving away adults to other zoos. For instance, from the nine adult dragons it received in 1992, only four remain. Five were exchanged with other zoos in order to cut down its burden in taking care of the dragons and their newly hatched young.

Despite these steps, the productivity of the remaining dragons is still high as the adults keep laying eggs, which means that each year, new dragons add to the breeding community.

"We're really happy witnessing the new dragons here each year. But at the same time, we also feel serious concern because due to limited funds, we can't properly care for them," Suwito said.

Citing an example, he said that to provide fresh meat for the 18 dragons born in May 1999, the zoo needs Rp 1.48 million every week. Meanwhile, the zoo also needs to feed the 60 adult dragons, which consume more meat than the little ones.

Komodo dragons usually eat beef, but at certain times, they are given fresh goat meat or fresh chicken meat.

When the price of beef jumped due to the crisis, the zoo changed the dragons' diet to kangaroo meat as it was cheaper than beef. When the kangaroo meat's distributor could no longer meet the demand, their diet was changed again. Now, they are given horse meat.

Feeding the dragons is not the only problem. Environment is also a problem. Creating a standard environment for the dragons needs a lot of money. Until now, those born in May 1999 are still being kept in fiberglass boxes although they should already be moved to the enclosure.

"We feel sorry for the baby dragons but what can we do?" Suwito asked.

The zoo still waits for help from concerned individuals, universities or foreign research institutes. In 1996, it received technical assistance from the American Zoo Association to help the its staff determine the dragons' sex. It is difficult to identify whether a Komodo dragon is male or female, but with this assistance, each dragon is given a certain mark to ease the identifying process.

Suwito, however, still has high hopes that a group of concerned individuals will lend a helping hand by adopting the reptiles. By adopting the Komodo dragons, they will be able to remain at the zoo and under the care of experts, while those adopting them will pay of their care. They can also place their names on the dragons' enclosures or even name them.

But, it is still just a hope. "I don't know when it will come true," Suwito said.