Jakarta Globe – AFP, February 1, 2014
Plain clothes police hold a dead komodo dragon at Surabaya zoo, in East Java, on Feb. 1, 2014. (AFP Photo) |
A
three-year-old komodo dragon has died at an Indonesian zoo infamous for scores
of animal deaths, zoo officials said Saturday.
A zookeeper
found the dragon dead in its cage on Saturday morning when he came to feed the
giant lizard.
“I moved
its tail, but it didn’t respond and when I checked, its eyes were already
shut,” said zookeeper Suraji, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
The zoo was
conducting an autopsy to find the cause of death, zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat
said.
The
Surabaya zoo, the biggest in Indonesia, has seen 105 animal deaths since July
2013, Supangkat added.
The komodo
dragon is the fifth fatality at the zoo since the start of the year, following
the death of a deer a day earlier, he added.
An
18-month-old African lion died earlier in January after getting its head caught
in cables in its cage.
The
management of the zoo has been taken over by the Surabaya city administration,
but the deaths have not stopped and animal welfare groups continue to call for
its closure.
The komodo
dragons are native to several Indonesian islands, where their habitat is
protected, and are considered a vulnerable species, with only a few thousand
left in the world.
The world’s
largest monitor lizards, they can grow up to three metres and weigh up to 70
kilograms
Agence France-Presse
A young girl looks at a Sumatran Tiger at Surabaya Zoo in Surabaya, East Java, on Jan. 11, 2014. (EPA Photo/Fully Handoko) |
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