*Attached video: New exhibit opens at Cleveland MetroParks Zoo
AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – The Akron Zoo has welcomed a new Komodo dragon!
According to a press release from the Akron Zoo, the new Komodo dragon is a male 4-year-old named Jasper. He weighs 10 pounds and is a little over four feet long. Jasper hatched on August 4, 2019.
Jasper also has family connections to the Akron Zoo! The zoo’s previous Komodo dragon, Draco, was his aunt, and Charlie, who lived at the Akron Zoo between 2012 and 2016, is his mother.
Jasper joins Padar, the zoo’s male Komodo dragon.
According to the release, Komodo dragons are native to Indonesia and are the largest lizards in the world. They can reach up to 10 feet in length and weigh, on average, between 150-300 pounds.
According to the Akron Zoo, Komodo dragons are classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List.
When Jasper was born, DNA testing found that he and his two brothers were reproduced through parthenogenesis, a type of reproduction where a female Komodo dragon produces offspring without male fertilization, according to the release.
Click here for more information about the Akron Zoo.
