That might give Komodos a distinct survival edge. Only about 4,000 dragons remain in the wild, of which 1,000 are female. Concerns about dwindling Komodo dragon populations might be allayed by Flora and Sungai's recent self-induced motherhood.
"If female dragons can on occasion help out by virgin births, more power to them," said Trooper Walsh, a U.S.-based Komodo dragon expert, who was not connected to the study. "Komodo dragons are the ultimate survivors," said Walsh. "This is just another way this species can adapt to its surroundings."
The discovery that Komodo dragons can reproduce asexually also has major implications for how they will be bred in captivity in the future.
Experts are also keen to find out how prevalent virgin births are in the wild.
"It's baffling why a species starts doing this," said Kevin de Queiroz, a research zoologist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, who was not involved with the paper. "It would be helpful to know how often this happens and what the mechanism is that allows them do that."
In the meantime, Buley and his colleagues at the Chester Zoo are eagerly anticipating the hatching of Flora's remaining eggs. A Christmas arrival, Buley says, would probably be on the early side, since the baby dragons are not technically due until January.
