AKRON, Ohio — Draco, a 12-year-old Komodo dragon that has been at the Akron Zoo since May 2012, has passed away.
“Draco was a truly special member of the Akron Zoo family,” said Kathleen Balogh, animal care manager at the Akron Zoo. “She had an exceptionally trusting relationship with her care team, which allowed us to develop innovative and outstanding care practices that will be shared with other Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facilities.”
Zoo officials announced details of Draco’s death Monday, noting she died Jan. 8. An animal autopsy “showed that Draco had a reproductive complication called egg yolk coelomitis, which typically has a high mortality rate in female Komodo dragons.”
Draco was born at the Denver Zoo on Oct. 6, 2010, before she was moved to Akron.
The zoo’s male Komodo dragon, Padar, will remain in the zoo’s Komodo dragon habitat daily.
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on Aug. 9, 2022.
