絶滅危惧のコモドドラゴン、２９匹誕生　インドネシア動物園

【スラバヤＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシア・スラバヤの動物園が２～３月、絶滅危惧種コモドドラゴン（コモドオオトカゲ）２９匹のふ化に成功した。園長が２７日、発表した。（写真は生後４か月のコモドドラゴン。インドネシア・スラバヤの動物園にて）
　コモドドラゴンは世界最大のトカゲ。同国コモド島の国立公園と隣接するフロレス島にのみ生息し、最大で体長３メートル、体重９０キロになる。
　野生の個体数は推定３４５８匹。人間の活動と気候変動の影響で生息地が破壊され、数が減っている。
　コモドドラゴンは雌単独の単為生殖が可能。スラバヤ動物園では、雌２頭が産んだ卵を人工ふ化させた。
　同動物園では、今回生まれた赤ちゃんを含め１３４匹のコモドドラゴンが飼育されており、生息地以外で最大の個体群となっている。
　国際自然保護連合（ＩＵＣＮ）が昨年公開した報告書によると、コモドドラゴンの生息地は、海面上昇により今後４５年で３０％縮小すると予想されている。
　園長は、状況が改善されるまでコモド島やフロレス島で自然に返す予定はないとしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/30-14:36）

An Indonesian zoo has welcomed dozens of new baby Komodo dragons hatched in captivity in recent months as part of a breeding programme, its director said Tuesday, offering hope for efforts to conserve the endangered species.
The world's largest living lizards are found only in Indonesia's World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores, and just 3,458 adult and baby species are left in the wild according to estimates.
The fearsome reptiles, which can grow to three metres (10 feet) in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds), are threatened by human activity and climate change destroying their habitat.
But a breeding programme in Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya is trying to change that, successfully breeding 29 dragons in incubators between February and March.
We have habitats that mirror the Komodo's natural habitat, including its humidity and temperature, zoo director Chairul Anwar told AFP.
The newborns were hatched from two female Komodo dragons after their eggs were placed in incubators to prevent them from being eaten by their mothers or other Komodo dragons.
Female Komodos can fertilise an egg without the need for a male dragon.
The zoo started the programme in the 1990s as part of the effort to conserve the species in a city located more than 700 kilometres (434 miles) away from the dragon's natural habitat.
After the spate of births this year, Surabaya Zoo now houses 134 Komodo dragons, the largest population group outside of its habitat in the cluster of islands east of Bali, Anwar said.
In a report last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warned the endangered species' habitat was expected to shrink by 30 percent in the next 45 years due to rising sea levels.
Anwar said the dragons will not be released back into the wild on Komodo or Flores until conditions improve.
Komodo Island is still working to rejuvenate the forests, which feed the dragon's declining natural prey such as deer, he said.