Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Komodo dragon simply 'Precious' to zoo officials
April 27, 2004, 6:16 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- The city-owned zoo's "Precious" new resident has a poisonous bite and an appetite for flesh.
Precious is the name of the John Ball Zoo's new Komodo dragon, which officially debuts Saturday but quietly went on display Monday.
The green-and-orange lizard arrived in December and was quarantined in the zoo's hospital for 90 days. John Ball officials say the reptile is the first Komodo dragon to live at any Michigan zoo.
"He is a fine-looking young lad, I must say," zoo spokeswoman Krys Bylund told The Grand Rapids Press. "I wouldn't call him cute but I would definitely call him handsome."
Komodo dragons are the world's largest lizards. The prehistoric-looking reptiles can grow to 10 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds.
Only about 5,000 to 6,000 of the endangered lizards live in the wild, all on a few Indonesian islands. In their natural habitat, Komodo dragons feed on deer, water buffalo, goats -- and occasionally humans.
The animal has many razor-sharp teeth. Its bite can be fatal to humans because its saliva is toxic.
Precious is an average-sized male who weighs 46 pounds and measures 7 feet long, keeper Tish McNamara said. The lizard was one of the first 26 Komodo dragons born in captivity outside of Indonesia when he hatched in 1992.
He was named by keepers at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived before coming to the Grand Rapids zoo.
Barb Snyder, John Ball's animal curator, said officials at her zoo initially considered changing the reptile's name to something a bit more ferocious. After getting to know Precious better, however, they decided the name was fitting.
"When he was very young he was pretty laid back so (the National Zoo) used him in promotional stuff," Snyder said. "It wasn't until he was several years old that they verified his sex and by then, the name just stuck."
He's taking up residence in a renovated exhibit in John Ball's herpetarium.
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On the Net:
John Ball Zoo: http://www.johnballzoosociety.org/
Link to story
April 27, 2004, 6:16 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- The city-owned zoo's "Precious" new resident has a poisonous bite and an appetite for flesh.
Precious is the name of the John Ball Zoo's new Komodo dragon, which officially debuts Saturday but quietly went on display Monday.
The green-and-orange lizard arrived in December and was quarantined in the zoo's hospital for 90 days. John Ball officials say the reptile is the first Komodo dragon to live at any Michigan zoo.
"He is a fine-looking young lad, I must say," zoo spokeswoman Krys Bylund told The Grand Rapids Press. "I wouldn't call him cute but I would definitely call him handsome."
Komodo dragons are the world's largest lizards. The prehistoric-looking reptiles can grow to 10 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds.
Only about 5,000 to 6,000 of the endangered lizards live in the wild, all on a few Indonesian islands. In their natural habitat, Komodo dragons feed on deer, water buffalo, goats -- and occasionally humans.
The animal has many razor-sharp teeth. Its bite can be fatal to humans because its saliva is toxic.
Precious is an average-sized male who weighs 46 pounds and measures 7 feet long, keeper Tish McNamara said. The lizard was one of the first 26 Komodo dragons born in captivity outside of Indonesia when he hatched in 1992.
He was named by keepers at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived before coming to the Grand Rapids zoo.
Barb Snyder, John Ball's animal curator, said officials at her zoo initially considered changing the reptile's name to something a bit more ferocious. After getting to know Precious better, however, they decided the name was fitting.
"When he was very young he was pretty laid back so (the National Zoo) used him in promotional stuff," Snyder said. "It wasn't until he was several years old that they verified his sex and by then, the name just stuck."
He's taking up residence in a renovated exhibit in John Ball's herpetarium.
------
On the Net:
John Ball Zoo: http://www.johnballzoosociety.org/
Link to story