C o n s e r v a t i o n
Why are Komodo dragons endangered?
Komodo dragons are officially classified as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species. Population estimates vary, but there's general agreement that fewer than 6,000 of these animals exist in the wild.

They were forced to abandon one island in the 1970s and 80s when their prey was heavily poached by people. One the island of Flores, Komodo habitat is shrinking rapidly as people consume more and more of it. And, lest we inappropriately put all of the blame on people, natural catastrophes such as fires and hurricanes are not uncommon within the Komodos' range.

In 1969 a major volcanic eruption covered much of the region with a layer of ash which killed many plants. With a restricted-range animal like the Komodo, a major natural disaster could have a traumatic effect on populations. The Komodo dragon has the smallest range of any large predator in the world. The total land area occupied by this species is smaller than King County in Washington state.

What's being done to help them?
The Sultan of Bima is known to have ordered protection of Komodo dragons as early as 1915. More recently, the government of Indonesia has decreed progressively stronger protection for Komodos. This included the creation in 1980 of Komodo National Park, which protects much but not all of the Komodos' range. Since then, park rangers have been able to halt the poaching of Komodos and slow the poaching of their prey within the park.

In the past dozen years some western organizations, led in part by the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., have provided assistance for Komodo research and conservation. Woodland Park Zoo has supported research and conservation efforts in the field since 2000.