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Paington zoo to home Komodo Dragon

It'll become only the 6th site in the UK to have one of the giant lizards.

The 6 year old will be transported from Barcelona Zoo by an expert zoo animal moving company this week.

 

She’ll need time to settle into her new home in Crocodile Swamp, so the building will be closed from 9th July onwards before opening to guests on 20th July.

 

Luke, the man responsible for bringing this creature to Devon, said: “We are incredibly excited to have a Komodo dragon coming to Paignton Zoo – it will be a fantastic experience for guests to get close to this species. There really is no experience quite like seeing your first Komodo dragon in the flesh. It is a complicated process moving Komodo dragons – we would like to thank Barcelona Zoo, who bred the animal and who are allowing us to hold her here at Paignton Zoo, and also thank the European Studbook holder and all the Komodo Dragon Species Committee for helping make this move possible.”

 

There are currently just 14 Komodo dragons in the UK - 8 males and 6 females – with the closest being at Crocodiles of the World, in Oxfordshire.

 

A member of the monitor lizard family, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is found on a handful of Indonesian islands. It grows to a length of 3 metres and can weigh up to 70 kilos. The IUCN classes the species as Vulnerable.

 

An adult Komodo dragon is a formidable creature, capable of running in short bursts of up to 20kph (12mph). It has strong front claws and a powerful tail and can detect carrion from up to 6 miles. Komodo is the name of an Indonesian island.

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