The Nashville Zoo celebrated the year of the dragon by welcoming two Komodo dragon hatchlings into the world last month.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Last month, the Nashville Zoo welcomed two Komodo dragons into the world.
The Nashville Zoo has housed Komodo dragons since 2014, but these are the first hatchlings. The hatchlings represent new genetics to the North American Komodo dragon population and was imported from the Prague Zoo.
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Though the hatchlings weighed in at just 100 grams when they first arrived into the world, Komodo dragons typically weigh in at more than 300 pounds when fully-grown. They are among the largest and heaviest lizards left on earth, ambushing everything from deer to water buffalo in the wild.
“At Nashville Zoo we work hard to ensure we are protecting endangered species and helping their numbers grow,” the zoo’s herpetology keepers, Cayton Curtis and James Flaherty, said in a press release. “We are proud to contribute to the increase in genetically diverse Komodo Dragon populations with the two new hatchlings.”
The hatchlings joins an adult male, two adult females and two juvenile males that already lived at the Nashville Zoo. Komodo dragons are considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the zoo participates in the Komodo Dragon Species Survival Plan and collaborates with the Komodo Survival Program.
As of publication, the hatchlings are being raised behind the scenes at the zoo’s dedicated Komodo Dragon facility. To learn more about Nashville’s Komodo dragon conservation efforts, follow this link.