Every dragon must have its lair, and Komodo dragons are no exception.
On Tuesday morning, the Little Rock Zoo officially cut the ribbon for two new exhibits. The “Isle of the Dragon” is now home to a pair of juvenile Komodo dragons, Iroh and Tiamat.
Little Rock Zoo Director Susan Altrui says while the reptiles are already large, they’ve still got a long way to grow.
"These awe-inspiring reptiles will eventually grow to be 10 feet long, making them the largest lizards on the planet," said Altrui. "They are native to the remote islands of Indonesia. Komodo dragons are true apex predators. They are masters of ambush and stealth, but, sadly, they are also classified as endangered, which makes the chance to watch them grow and thrive here at the Little Rock Zoo All the more special.”
Once they are fully grown, the two will become a breeding pair.
The second exhibit opening Tuesday was "Hidden Corners of the World," an amphibian and reptile habitat.
This exhibit was funded by a $100,000 dollar gift from the Conway Chamber of Commerce in honor of the city’s annual Toad Suck Daze celebration.
Brad Lacy, President and CEO of the Conway Chamber of Commerce, said he was asked many times why the City of Conway was making this gift to the zoo located in the capital city.
"Regionalism is really the word of the day, because it's the reality. Economies don't stop at the city limits, and frankly, neither do our attendees. When you look at where the attendees to our festival comes from, they are from all over Arkansas," said Lacy. "And frankly, we've made a very good living off amphibians, but we've never really done anything to recognize the role amphibians play in our environment."
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Junior championed the new exhibits, and the regional growth, noting the reptiles aren’t the only green that's come to Arkansas’ only zoo.
"The zoo just recently received close to $12 million of both city dollars and private partnerships to do the new re-entry in the zoo that people are seeing, the new construction right here," Scott said. "So much construction going on.”
The grand opening was held just days in advance of one of the Little Rock Zoo’s most popular events, the Hiland Dairy Dollar Day, happening on Saturday.
The annual discount admission day is in its 16th year, giving anyone the opportunity to visit the park for only one dollar.
