THE National Zoological Gardens of South Africa in Pretoria regrets to announce the death of its last remaining Komodo dragon. The director of the zoo, Willie Labuschagne, says it is a great loss to the zoo and the people of South Africa. "The animals have been with us since July 1999 and adjusted well to their state-of-the-art enclosure. It came as a shock to us as the Komodo dragon appeared to be in perfect health when it died". Two Komodo dragons were received from the Indonesian government in 1999 as a gift to former President Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa. The death of the first Komodo dragon was announced in June 2001 and the cause of death was attributed to an internal bacterial infection of the ovaries and complications arising from this. It was determined that the second Komodo dragon died of a bacterial infection of the lungs and kidneys. The bacteria cannot be attributed to any known source. Adds Labuschagne, "The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa has already undertaken negotiations with the Indonesian government to acquire new animals from them and an announcement will be made soon". Komodo dragons are protected by the government of Indonesia as less than 4 000 individual animals remain in the wild. (Miguel de Sousa)
