Komodo Dragon Endangerment from Climate Change

[RatioTile]

Will Climate Change Drive Komodo Dragons Extinct?

After reading this article, I have a few thoughts.

1) Biogeographically, why are Komodo dragons limited to only a few smaller islands? If they’re good swimmers, why did they never colonize larger Indonesian islands?

2) Could this problem be partially averted by transplanting Komodo dragons to other parts of the world, such as Australia? Especially parts of Australia with feral invasive species like water buffalos, camels, dogs, and cats.

 

[birdsandbats]

I think I remember hearing once that Komodos originally occurred in Australia but were hunted out by Aboriginals.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I think I remember hearing once that Komodos originally occurred in Australia but were hunted out by Aboriginals.

Yes, that is correct, some paleontologists believed that it originated there actually but whatever the case may be there were several species that occupied and evolved within Australia not just a single one.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Will Climate Change Drive Komodo Dragons Extinct?

After reading this article, I have a few thoughts.

1) Biogeographically, why are Komodo dragons limited to only a few smaller islands? If they’re good swimmers, why did they never colonize larger Indonesian islands?

2) Could this problem be partially averted by transplanting Komodo dragons to other parts of the world, such as Australia? Especially parts of Australia with feral invasive species like water buffalos, camels, dogs, and cats.

They did colonize many of the Indonesian islands as they radiated out of Australia. It seems that just like with the arrival of humans in Australia the komodo went extinct on many of these larger islands as a result of anthropogenic pressures and only remained extant in the lesser Sunda islands.

As for the idea of assisted translocation of Komodo dragons to the Australian mainland, I can't really comment other than to say that if it is currently hard enough to bring Tasmanian devils back to the mainland why would it be any easier "bringing back" dragons ?

 

[RatioTile]

They did colonize many of the Indonesian islands as they radiated out of Australia. It seems that just like with the arrival of humans in Australia the komodo went extinct on many of these larger islands as a result of anthropogenic pressures and only remained extant in the lesser Sunda islands.

As for the idea of translocating Komodo dragons to the Australian mainland, I can't really comment other than to say that if it is currently hard enough to bring Tasmanian devils back to the mainland why would it be any easier bringing back dragons ?

I don’t know about the attempts to return Tasmanian devils to the mainland. Are the obstacles political or based in science?

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I don’t know about the attempts to return Tasmanian devils to the mainland. Are the obstacles political or based in science?

As far as I can remember it is both.