Associated Press
Two Komodo dragons have hatched at a Kansas zoo, apparently without fertilization by a male.
The dragons—both males—are believed to be the first in North America known to have hatched by parthenogenesis—reproduction without fertilization—which occurs naturally in some species, including invertebrates and lower plants. It happens more rarely in some vertebrates.
Two other known cases in which Komodo dragons hatched by parthenogenesis were at the London and Chester zoos in England in 2006. (See photo.)
The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita is having DNA testing done to document the mother's and the babies' genetic structure because of the remote chance that a male's sperm was stored on the female's body.
Komodo dragons are one of the few species capable of storing sperm, said Don Boyer, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the San Diego Zoo.
The Kansas zoo has had the new mother and one other female Komodo dragon since 1993, when they were less than a year old. They have been laying eggs since 2000.
"We never had a male dragon at the zoo. There were no tramps that came wandering through," said Nate Nelson, the zoo's curator of amphibians, reptiles, and fishes.
One of the Sedgwick County Zoo's females, Gaia, laid at least 17 eggs on the nights of May 19 and 20, 2007. The females can lay as many as 30 eggs at a time.
Because the English zoos had documented parthenogenesis, the Sedgwick County Zoo checked to see whether the eggs were fertile. Only two of the 17 eggs were hatched—one on January 31 and the other February 1—because the zoo doesn't have room for more dragons, Nelson said.
One of the baby dragons is 16 inches (40 centimeters) long, and the other is 17 inches (43 centimeters).
Komodo dragons can live 20 to 40 years. Males can reach 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh as much as 200 pounds (90 kilograms). Females grow to between 5 and 7 feet (between 1.5 and 2 meters) and weigh as much as 125 pounds (57 kilograms).
Komodo dragons are endangered. There are between 3,000 and 5,000 in the wild. Eighty live in 30 zoos in North America. Only six zoos in the nation breed the dragons.
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