For the first time in the Bronx Zoo's 122-year history, six Komodo dragons were successfully bred and hatched.
An official with the Bronx Zoo told Newsweek that the breeding process began in 2014 when the zoo opened the Komodo dragon exhibit. Before then, the last time Komodo dragons were housed at the Bronx Zoo was in the 1950s.
According to a press release published by the zoo, adult Komodo dragons may become aggressive during the mating process. Because of this, staff with the zoo's Herpetology Department watched over them when they were paired for mating.
After years of work put into breeding, one pair bred in March 2021, and the female dragon laid eggs in April. The eggs were incubated and monitored for seven months before they hatched in November.
"The first dragon pipped its egg by using a special egg tooth on the tip of its snout," Don Boyer, Curator of Herpetology at the Bronx Zoo, wrote in a blog post published to the zoo's website. "The dragon did not emerge right away—at times just an eye was visible through the slit openings in the egg."
Boyer wrote that it took about 20 hours for the newborn dragon to fully hatch from its shell. It measured in at a foot-long and had yellow and orange coloring.
The dragon was washed off and taken to an enclosure where it stayed until its umbilical stalk fell off and the scar closed. Boyer wrote that the dragon was then transferred to a larger space that had branches and slabs of bark.
"This is an important achievement for zoo staff and a significant milestone for the Bronx Zoo," Boyer said in the zoo's press release. "Komodo dragons are one of the planet's most fascinating species and these hatchlings represent a hopeful future for the species. They will be wonderful ambassadors for their wild counterparts as they help us raise awareness about conservation needs."
The press release noted that Komodo dragons are native to the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Flores, Rinca, Padar, Gili Motang and Nusa Kode, but the species is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There may be less than 2,500 Komodo dragons living in the wild. Of those living in the wild, there may be as few as 350 breeding females.
"The hatching of these Komodos is an outcome of the Species Survival Plan [SSP], a cooperative breeding and management program administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums [AZA] to maintain genetic diversity and demographic stability in zoo populations," officials with the Bronx Zoo said in the press release.
This is not the first time this year a zoo welcomed a newborn. Newsweek previously reported in September that a rare southern white rhinoceros was born at Lion Country Safari in Florida.
Zoo officials announced the rhino's birth in a Facebook post with photos of the calf.
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