ZooBorns

L.A. Celebrates the Hatching of 22 Dragons!

On August 8, 2010 the first of 22 Komodo dragons hatched at the L.A. Zoo.  Over the course of the next 11 days, 21 additional Komodos hatched.

Lima, the Zoo’s female Komodo dragon, laid 23 eggs back in January so hatching 22 was a huge success!. Fewer than 10 zoos in North America have been able to breed Komodos; this marks the L.A. Zoo’s first success at breeding them.

Photo Credits: Tad Motoyama / L.A. Zoo

Tiny Veiled Chameleon Hatchlings at National Zoo

Sometimes, tinier is better. This green little fellow is about as tiny as they come. The National Zoo's female veiled chameleon laid 27 eggs last December, some were infertile, and nine hatched between May 31 and June 14. The two- to three-inch-long young were very agile shortly after hatching. Adult chameleons are solitary animals, but for the first few weeks, the babies will be kept together.

Photo Credits: Meghan Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo

Cheers to Linda L. for the heads up!

Dragons Hatch in Washington, DC

On November 11th, four little dragonlings hatched at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Little is known about the Chameleon Forest Dragon, except that they are not actually chameleons (and there's no such thing as real dragons of course...  sorry if we got your hopes up). 

Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, Chameleon Forest Dragons are a brilliant green at birth and then change to a darker green or brown in adulthood to camouflage the lizards in their treetop homes.

  Photo Credits: Mehgan Murphy / National Zoo

The Mighty Komodo Dragon... at Its Tiniest

The Singapore Zoo has hatched the first baby Komodo Dragon in it's 34 year history. Here you get a rare glimpse at the world's heaviest lizard at it's very smallest: just hatched! At this size the apex predator of the the Indonesian isles looks pretty harmless but in adulthood wild Komodo Dragons grow up to 10ft long and eat deer or even buffalo!