Komodo breeding program breeds success and problems

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.