Conservation project for the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) in the Wae Wuul Reserve on Flores Island

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest existing species of lizard; adult males can reach 3 metres in length and 80 kg weight. It is a carnivorous animal that captures live prey, although it also feeds on carrion. It inhabits areas of deciduous forest and savannah, from sea level to 800 metres height.

The Komodo dragon is endemic to five islands in South-Eastern Indonesia, four of which - Komodo, Rinca, Gili and Gili Dasami Motang - form the Komodo National Park, was founded in 1980. The fifth island, Flores, is the largest of all and has two natural reserves: the Wae Wuul on the West coast and Wolo Tadó on the North coast. The current population of Komodo National Park is estimated at less than 2,000 individuals.

The population on the island of Flores is less known; there was estimated to be a population of 66 individuals at Wae Wuul in 1991. Its density is up to four times lower than the other four islands where the species lives and the threats to dragons have increased in recent years due to illegal hunting of Timor deer (Cervus Timorensis), the main food source of the Komodo dragon.

 In 2005 the creation of a protection program on Wae Wuul Reserve for a minimum of three years was proposed, in which the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) would be the main participant. The programme anticipates carrying out activities to educate the communities that live around the reserve, and the creation of patrols and services to reinforce the application of local laws,

A Protection Plan has also been developed with the goal of preserving the two Komodo dragon populations remaining in the Wae Wuul Reserve and preventing the destruction of habitat being increased towards the south-west of Flores Island, an area where intense logging and mining activities are not yet observed and which has great potential for wildlife conservation and as a protection area of the Komodo National Park. It can also serve as example for the future management of the region and also to demonstrate that it is possible to implement conservation measures and new models of sustainable growth for local populations.

Barcelona Zoo, after expressing for some time express its interest in participating in the management of this species within the European zoological community, joined the European captive breeding programme, the EAZA’s EEP, for the species in 2005. Since then, the Zoo has participated in all their guidelines and in all meetings where issues of management of the captive population are discussed, both from the standpoint of management, and health care and research. Equally, the Zoo has collaborated financially in the maintenance of the programme on Flores Island, where European and local researchers collaborate in training and awareness-building of the local populations, and in the control and population census of Komodo dragons.

Sponsors of Research and preservation of the Zoo: