On 11^th July 3 of our young female komodo dragons transferred to Wroclaw zoo in Poland on an EEP recommendation. Of the 23 komodo dragons that hatched out during November – January we have transferred a total of 10 individuals to three eaza zoos. We will continue receive recommendations to transfer more of these dragons to other collections during the coming months.

Although many of our young komodo dragons are tranferring all over the world, the group of four males living in the Worlds Apart building will be with use for at least another two years as they continue to grow and thrive. 

Colchester Zoo first introduced Komodo dragons to its collection in 2006 to become part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for this species.

Our first Komodo dragons weighed just 1.5kg on arrival, but now our adult pair, Mutu and Telu, weigh 30 kg and 50 kg respectively. The Komodo dragon is the largest surviving lizard in the world, with some growing up to 3m in length!

After a successful mating, we were delighted to report back in January 2013, the hatching of our first baby Komodo dragon; Curu. It was later confirmed that Mutu and Telu had become the first dragons in the UK to breed through a natural mating. Komodo dragons are an unusual species in that the female is capable of breeding without having encountered a male; this is called parthenogenesis. This has been seen in two zoos in the UK already. From a breeding programme point of view, the aim is to form pairs of Komodo dragons to retain genetic diversity, so we were particularly excited to confirm that Curu was born via a natural mating.

Since this first mating we continued to have remarkable success with Mutu and Telu, with over 20 hatchlings throughout the winter of 2013/14. With other collections becoming approved to house Komodo dragons, this is a great opportunity for Colchester Zoo to contribute to the breeding programme.

Keeper Glen Fairweather says 'We are delighted with the successful breeding for this species. To help with the relationships with keepers, we are starting to target train our Komodo dragons when feeding. When the hatchlings learn to associate the target with their food reward, it will enable us to lead the individuals around as they follow the target. This helps us with essential husbandry maintenance. We also gradually start to initiate body contact by gently stroking them when cleaning the exhibit; this will help build a bond of trust between the Komodo dragon youngsters and their keepers.

The main threats to Komodo dragons are deer poaching, resulting in a reduction of prey numbers, arson and sporadic illegal logging leading to habitat degradation. Colchester Zoo is part of the European Endangered Species (EEP) programme for this species, and with this reptiles' numbers declining in the wild due to the above threats, we hope that this successful production of offspring will support the existence and conservation of this species in captivity. Our charity, Action for the Wild's annual donation to the Wae Wuul Komodo dragon Conservation Project on the island of Flores in Indonesia will also serve to help conserve remaining wild populations of this vulnerable species for the future.