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DENVER — A complex operating room has saved the life of a imprisoned Komodo dragon at the Denver Zoo .
Anika , a 6 - year - old female Komodo dragon , recrudesce dystocia , a condition in which reptiles are unable to deposit their eggs . Dystocia is also called nut - binding , and it can be fatal for distaff lizard .
Anika, a 6-year-old Komodo dragon, is recovering after emergency surgery for an often-fatal condition in which eggs are retained in the abdomen. Veterinarians at the Denver Zoo started aggressive treatment after noticing that Anika’s abdomen was swollen and she was losing weight despite an increased appetite.
menagerie staff first noticed that Anika ’s abdomen was swollen and that she ’d misplace weight , even though her appetite ( and eating ) had increased dramatically . A assault and battery of tests , including an ultrasound and an endoscope examination of the dragon ’s venter , revealed blood in the abdominal cavity , as well as eggs . [ In photo : Rare Birth of ' Baby Dragons ' at Slovenia Cave ]
The next Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , veterinarians put Anika under anaesthesia for exigency operating room . According to the zoological garden , multiple ballock had ruptured inside the Komodo tartar , necessitating the removal of vitellus from these eggs , a productive breeding ground for mortal bacteria . The surgeons also remove Anika ’s ovaries and developing ball so that the job would not reoccur in the future .
Most Komodo tartar with dystocia die , the Denver Zoo enunciate . A surgical checkup on June 28 , however , suggested that Anika is recover well . Her stitch have been take out , and she has been treated with antibiotics and nutrients to prevent future contagion .
Anika the dragon goes under the knife at the Denver Zoo. The Komodo dragon had dystocia, or egg-binding, a condition in which she couldn’t deposit her eggs. Surgeons had to scrape yolk from broken eggs out of her abdomen, and removed her ovaries so the condition won’t reoccur.
" We are so happy that Anika is still with us today , " Denver Zoo stave veterinarian Gwen Jankowski said in an email statement . " Komodo dragons are consider a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature . Being able to save one has been deeply meaningful to the entire Denver Zoo . "
Komodo dragons(Varanus komodoensis ) are native to Indonesia . According to the Smithsonian ’s National Zoo , which cover the lizards for the first time out of doors of Indonesia , Komodo flying dragon can grow up to 10 feet ( 3.05 m ) long . The largest known specimen weighed 366 pound . ( 166 kilogram ) , though 154 lbs . ( 70 kilogram ) is more received for the reptile .
Komodo dragons have a reputation for deadly spit : Researchers used to think this bacteria - ladened fluid helped the tartar kill prey by trigger off mortal contagion . In 2009 , however , researchers led by Bryan Fry of the University of Queensland in Australia ascertain that Komodo dragon actually make a weak venom thatincreases blood personnel casualty in bitten prey .
Like some other reptile , Komodo Draco can have vestal birth . This cognitive operation , known as parthenogenesis , was first observedin 2006 at London ’s Chester Zoo . The dragon female parent , Flora , had never been caged with a male , and genetic testing prove that the offspring were hers and hers alone . Parthenogenesis pass when an ballock - progenitor cell ( a precursor to the developing egg ) acts like a sperm cell and " fertilizes " another developing testicle cell .
Original article onLive scientific discipline .
