Indonesian zoo welcomes births of 25 Komodo dragons, hatched in incubators

Indonesian zoo welcomes birth of 25 Komodo dragons

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the births of 25 endangered Komodo dragons, hatched after eight months in incubators.

Veterinarian Rahmat Suharta says the eggs, from three giant female lizards, hatched at the Surabaya Zoo in East Java over the past week.

He said Thursday that the babies, weighing between 2.8 ounces (80 grams) and 4.2 ounces (120 grams), brought to 69 the number of the giant lizards at the zoo, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Eleven more eggs are expected to hatch in coming weeks.

Komodo dragons can be found in the wild primarily on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca. The lizards — thought to number around 2,500 — can grow longer than 10 feet (3 meters) and weigh 150 pounds (70 kilograms).