Two new baby lizards have hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo, the first of their kind to be bred there, zoo officials said Thursday.
Perentie lizards, or Varanus giganteus, are native to Australia and are one of the world’s largest lizards, eclipsed only by the Komodo dragon and a few others.
“It is incredibly rewarding for our team to experience success breeding this species,” zoo curator Byron Wusstig said in a statement. “This species is not endangered, but is rarely seen in zoos outside Australia.”
Jamie Pham/AP
The LA Zoo is one of only three Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities to have successfully reproduced them, Wusstig said, and it is the first time in its history that the zoo has bred the permanent lizard species.
Zoo officials said the baby lizards are doing well, eating and being closely monitored by staff. They will be raised outside the exhibition in a controlled environment during their early stages of life. Visitors can see the father in the Australian section of the zoo, at the Komodo dragon habitat.
Adult perentie lizards can grow more than 8 feet long and weigh more than 40 pounds, the zoo said. They have brown skin with cream or yellow markings. The carnivorous species eats turtle eggs, insects, birds, other reptiles and small mammals and marsupials, and they swallow their prey whole.
