‘Endangered’ status should spur Komodo dragon protection: activists

Komodo dragons lounge on Rinca Island, East Nusa Tenggara, on March 29, 2018. - JP

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) recent reclassification of the Komodo dragon, a species endemic to Indonesia, as “endangered” should provide a stronger impetus for the protection of its habitat, activists and experts have said.

In the latest update to its Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN categorised the Komodo dragon as endangered because of threats related to climate change, noting that the giant lizard’s habitat could be reduced by 30 per cent over the next 45 years due to rising sea levels.