European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse A Sylph a Tomodo Angora techno Inu Waito threat of Monsoon Bat Only about 7,000 of than of a helping the fierce and ugly Tomodo dragon survive by Malcolm w. Browne new York times he last Tomodo dragon in the United Stales an aging female whose potential male died six months ago May yet become a Mother and thereby help her race of Man eating lizards survive thanks to a technique being pioneered by scientists Al the san Diego zoo. Tomodo dragons Are intelligent fearsome lizards that grow to be eight Leet Long charge Al High Speed end occasionally devour human beings. Named for the Island of Tomodo an in mite Long Dot of land in Indonesia s lesser Sunda archipelago the Tomodo dragon is the largest Lizard in the world. Extinction Only about 7,000 of the animals exist the great majority of them confined to Tomodo and the nearby Island of Roros according to John a Philips comparative physiologist Al the san Diego zoo the Savannah grasses and Brush of kor Nodo Are dry As tinder end a major Fra there could devastate the species several Type of Lizard in various parts of the world As Well As sea turtles and some other reptiles face even More precarious futures. The technique being developed for san Diego s Lone dragon May Erma Bombeck eventually save other reptile species Phillips said. Reptiles Gal vary Little help from human beings Lor iwo reasons he said. One is Hal they Aren t cuddly. The Tomodo dragon is As ugly a brute As any animal there is. Another reason is that tha physiology of the reptile is to different from that of human beings that reptiles Are relatively useless Lor medical research. You Don t. Gel Grants irom the National institutes of health to study Tomodo dragons or instance. Personally he added i like elephants Bui there Are plenty of scientists to took after elephants and other mammals so i feet a special obligation to endangered lizards and other reptiles. Someone has to try to save the ugly species As Well As the species beloved by one and all.". At one Lime several zoos in the United slates owned specimens of the Tomodo dragon ail of them gifts irom the government of Indonesia but the dragons have become even rarer than pandas in the zoos of the world. The big reptiles discovered by Western explorers in 1912, do not fare Well or reproduce in Captivity and the facilities needed to keep them alive Are expensive. Their Large enclosures must be maintained at 100 degrees fahrenheit the year round. Since tha dragons need ultraviolet radiation from the Sun they must live in greenhouses glazed with a special plastic capable of transmitting the needed wavelengths of Light scientists believe that Komado dragons Ramly live More than 25 years. The male owned by the san Diego zoo was about 20 when ii died and the surviving Lemale is about 18. Luckily Phillips said we were prepared for the male dragon s death just after he died we extracted some of the animal s semen and in has been preserved Frozen in liquid Phillips and his colleagues believe Hal the female can be forced to ovulate by administration of a substance called Gonadotropin releasing hormone which is commercially derived irom chickens. Trio hormone Musl be administered continuously for about two weeks to induce ovulation. When the attempt to impregnate the Lemale Tomodo dragon begins later this year a capsule containing the hormone will be implanted under a Flap of her skin. Inside the capsule will be a pump powered by the osmotic pressure of the animal s fluids to release the hormone a Little Al a Lime. When ovulation begins impregnation by semen from the deceased male dragon will be attempted. Phillips and other scientists who have studied dragons in he wild on he Island of Tomodo have noticed that Thair personalities vary strikingly from one individual to another. Some of them Are As curious As cats said Walter Auffenberg of the University of Florida. They wander into tents and explore everything in sight feeling out their surroundings with their Long yellow forked Phillips said that the docility of Many dragons could be dangerously deceptive however. I be been in a pit with As Many As a dozen of them and i be Learned to keep my eyes open. Tourists to Tomodo have begun feeding Goat meat to the dragons by hand and sooner or later there s going to be a bad Accident " in the past several years at least two tourists in Tomodo Are known to have been killed and Partty eaten by dragons. Dragons which eat Carrion As Well As live animals also sometimes dig up trash Graves and devour the contents. Formidable though they May seam though Al 42 species of Monitor lizards of which the Tomodo dragon is the largest May eventually need human help to survive Phillips believes. Several third world countries notably Belize in Central America have begun using the techniques developed by Phillips and William Lasley a colleague Al the Davis Campus of the University of California to help local reptile species reproduce. The population of Green iguanas in Belize and elsewhere in Central America is Only 1 percent of whal it was 15 years ago Phillips said one reason is Hal about 100.000 Green iguanas Are exported to the United Stales each year As pals and most of them die because owners Don t know How to look aider them. Another reason stemming from ancient mayan beliefs is that Green iguana eggs Are widely regarded As human aphrodisiacs and Are Ealen As such and finally the rain Forest habitat of the iguana is being destroyed with help from Phillips and his colleagues however Belize is establishing an iguana Breeding Arm using implanted hormone pumps to Lorce of Lallon. Of 250 eggs Laid by iguanas impregnated alter artificially forced of Lallon Phillips said "90 percent proved to be Fertile. We believe Hal with hormones and a special enriched diet to promote rapid growth we could Hatch Between 50,000 and 100,000 baby iguanas in a rather. Small enclosure thereby giving the species a real fighting a u. Of you know there is no one in this wide world who has More affection for he children than i also have affection Lor miss Piggy bul i Don t want to pick up her Wel towels off the bed Lor the next 30 years. Parents of grown children Tell me their children don1 need door keys anymore., they need a revolving door. They re in when they re out of work out of Money out of socks out of food and in debt they re out when they re in love in the Bucks in transit a school and have outgrown their need for milk. When i launched All my children i rewarded Mysell with celery Green carpet in the spare bedroom. It was my olympic Gold medal my Oscar my emmy my Reader s digest sweepstakes. I had done it and this was my Reward. Three months later one of my children moved Back with among other things a set of Drums hat leaked Oil. My celery Green carpet looked like a leftover. When he left we had in cleaned and began again. The next prodigal son brought a dog that had a sofa wish a car that was not garage trained and leaked Oil end he used towels like they were nose tissues that popped up automatically in a Box to be disposed of. The next one to return Tel me use my own phone but kept hours like a fireman. One night my husband and i Sal Down and tried to figure out whal the attraction of living Al Home is other than free laundry tree rent free toiletries Security love a permanent address Lor mail unlimited storage financing and Loans convention rooms Lor wednesday. July 23, 1986 private parties and entertaining and guest privileges. Snapped my fingers. I be got it it s the refrigerator Hal beckons and Calls them Home. Without it. Nothing else would keep them we decided to Stop treating the kids As guests and go Back to eating the Way we wanted to eat. We stocked the refrigerator with cottage cheese fresh Green vegetables Plain Yogurt unsalted butter and Blue milk. We bought bran Cereal wheat germ dietary fruit and did away with the sugar bowl. As the fast one left we heard him mumble i m going anywhere just so Long As they Don t refrigerate their bread we Haven t seen them since Erma Bombeck is on vacation. She left behind some of her favorite columns Fol 1989, Idi Angrin Tom syndic Iio the stars and stripes Page 17
