Last Komodo Dragon at S.D. Zoo Dies

Sweetheart, the last Komodo dragon in the Western Hemisphere, died Friday at the San Diego Zoo of a liver infection, zoo officials said Monday.

The 18-year-old female became the subject of worldwide attention last fall when zoological physiologists implanted her with an experimental device that they hoped would promote ovulation. She then would have been impregnated with semen taken and preserved from a male Komodo that died at the zoo in January, 1986, without ever having mated with Sweetheart during 10 years of cohabitation.

But Sweetheart’s hormone level did not show a significant increase following the experiment, probably because of her age, officials said.

After being returned to the reptile house in December, the Komodo had shown signs of lethargy and was found dead on Friday, spokesman Jeff Jouett said. The precise nature of her liver problem has not yet been identified, he said.

Komodo dragons are native to Indonesia.