The heat of the dragons
As one of the oldest and largest lizards in the world, the Komodo dragon has been walking the planet for over 4 million years. However, from 2021, the species has been classified as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and faces many threats including habitat loss and climate change.
Caring and conserving the future of this incredible species, both here at the zoo and out in the field, is all part of our mission. As part of this, our teams have been conducting a decade long study to understand the crucial need for the reptiles to warm up their bodies and the role that artificial sunlight can play in creating optimal conditions inside the zoo habitat.
A vital part of a reptile’s health and wellbeing is to regulate their internal body temperature and their environment has a huge role to play in the process. Out in their wild habitat of the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar and Flores, Komodo dragons can be found basking in the heat of the day’s sun to bring their body up to their optimal body temperature of 35˚ and above. At night they’ll find a shady spot and burrow into the earth. This acts as a warm, protective buffer for the dragons.
At Chester Zoo, our teams have been working with the Komodo dragons for the last ten years to research and enhance their habitat to steadily raise and sustain the body temperature of these huge reptiles. Using a combination of innovative thermal mapping to track the dragons’ surface temperature and behaviour within their habitat, alongside internal monitoring of their core temperature, we have been able to make some key changes to improve the wellbeing of these powerful predators and share our findings with other zoos.
Komodo dragons can be found basking in the heat of the day’s sun to bring their body up to their optimal body temperature of 35˚ and above.
As one of the oldest and largest lizards in the world, the Komodo dragon has been walking the planet for over 4 million years.
Komodo dragons are apex predators and can weigh up to 70kg and reach up to an impressive 3m in length.
We use a small but powerful piece of equipment called an iButton which allows us to gather and log data from inside the Komodo dragons’ bodies. This data has helped us to create a habitat where the animals can reach and sustain their optimal body temperature of approximately 35˚C more quickly which mimics the conditions of their natural habitat as closely as we can.
Lisa Holmes, Lead Conservation Scientist for Behaviour & Welfare
Inside the dragon
Using the iButton data loggers may sound like a futuristic piece of technology, however, the process of inserting and retrieving the equipment relies on some age-old techniques.
- The tiny device is hidden away in the Komodo dragons’ food and swallowed down without them noticing.
- Once inside the body, the device takes between 2-7 days to travel through the animal’s body, collecting important details of internal body temperature at different times.
- Each day, keepers will check the poo of each animal until they find the device, where it can be cleaned up ready to extract the all-important body temperature data.
Since the team have been able to accurately track and monitor the body temperature data, they’ve been able to provide the Komodo dragons with new, more efficient heat spots to bask under. The entire habitat is heated for a much warmer ambient temperature generally, and then there are heat lamps right by the viewing windows and in central areas, so you may be able to spot the dragons getting their daily dose of heat on your next visit.
Inside the dragon
Using the iButton data loggers may sound like a futuristic piece of technology, however, the process of inserting and retrieving the equipment relies on some age-old techniques.
- The tiny device is hidden away in the Komodo dragons’ food and swallowed down without them noticing.
- Once inside the body, the device takes between 2-7 days to travel through the animal’s body, collecting important details of internal body temperature at different times.
- Each day, keepers will check the poo of each animal until they find the device, where it can be cleaned up ready to extract the all-important body temperature data.
Since the team have been able to accurately track and monitor the body temperature data, they’ve been able to provide the Komodo dragons with new, more efficient heat spots to bask under. The entire habitat is heated for a much warmer ambient temperature generally, and then there are heat lamps right by the viewing windows and in central areas, so you may be able to spot the dragons getting their daily dose of heat on your next visit.
Hope for the future
Although they reach up to 3m in length and weigh up to 70kg, these apex predators face many threats in their natural habitats, including climate change and their natural prey of wild deer and pigs competing with farmed livestock.
There are less than 4000 Komodo dragons now living in the wild and they urgently need conservation support.
Chester Zoo, leading the International Studbook Programme, provides practical and financial support as part of an international initiative for all zoos keeping Komodo dragons, collaborating through the Komodo Survival Programme (KSP), an Indonesian NGO dedicated solely to protecting this charismatic species.
