Saturday 4 September 2021
The biggest lizard in the world
Climate change threatens the Komodo dragon
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Only a few thousand specimens of Komodo dragons live in Indonesia – according to a current assessment by the World Conservation Union, they are considered “critically endangered” due to rising sea levels. For some reptiles, the scientists’ predictions are even more bleak.
The famous Komodo dragon has been classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List of Animal and Plant Species Endangered due to climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature in Marseille announced that the habitat of this giant lizard from Indonesia is getting smaller due to rising sea levels. The Komodo dragon, of which several thousand specimens still live in the wild, was previously considered “critically endangered”.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has divided threatened species into three categories on its Red List: “endangered”, “endangered” and “critically endangered”. In addition to many lizards and geckos, some turtles in particular are classified in the higher threat category. Cantor’s giant softshell tortoise and giant terrapin are now considered Critically Endangered.
The fate of the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, specifically illustrates the impact of climate change, as explained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The habitat of this animal that reaches three meters in length and weighs 90 kilograms is threatened by global warming and human activities. “Rising temperatures, and therefore sea levels, are expected to reduce their living space by at least 30 percent over the next 45 years,” the organization warned. While the Komodo dragon is “well protected” within Indonesian national parks, the animals outside are threatened by “significant loss of their habitat” by humans.
More than a third (37 percent) of the more than 1,000 shark and ray species examined were considered threatened. In 2014 this represented 24 percent of shark and ray species. According to the IUCN, all species classified in this way are threatened by poaching. 31 percent suffer from degradation or loss of their habitat and 10 percent face the consequences of climate change.
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