The eggs of the endangered species were found buried one meter deep and will take approximately eight months to hatch.
Two weeks ago, veterinarians and members of the Bioparc Fuengirola Herpetology team noticed a change in the behavior of Ora, the female Komodo dragon. She was more nervous than usual and kept piling up the soil in one of the planters in her compound. It seemed that she was hiding something, and it turned out that it was her.
Ora showed all the signs of Komodo dragons that have just laid eggs: first she dug a deep nest and then, after laying them, she covered the hole again with soil. It was laborious for her, but a wonderful surprise for the Bioparc team. There are 12 ovules, the result of the mating of Ora with Reo, the male who underwent cataract surgery a few months ago to improve her quality of life.
Veterinarians and keepers took more than four hours to find the eggs, which Ora had buried at a depth of one meter. “We had to find them and take them to the incubation area, because in this species the females only monitor their eggs for the first few weeks. We need to ensure optimal levels of moisture and nutrients for them to survive”, explains Jesús Recuero, technical director of the Bioparc.
The eggs will take eight months to hatch, during which time the Bioparc Fuengirola team will check on them three times a week to make sure everything seems to be going well.