As many of you know, our beloved Komodo dragon, Drogo, passed away unexpectedly overnight on April 6 – 7, 2022.
On the morning of April 6, animal care staff noticed Drogo was lethargic and generally not acting like himself. By early afternoon, Drogo was unresponsive to both audio and tactile stimulation. He was quickly taken to the GSC’s Shearer Animal Hospital where the vet team drew blood, took x-rays and performed an examination, which revealed no causative pathology. Drogo was brought back to his behind-the-scenes holding area to recover and was conscious and responsive. Sadly, he was found deceased by members of our animal care team on the morning of April 7.
A necropsy (animal autopsy) was performed and tissue samples were sent off for histopathological testing. The histopath results show that his death was due to a systemic bacterial infection, which caused hemorrhaging and necrosis of his liver. Introduction of this infection is attributed to a lesion within his lower gastro-intestinal tract. Unfortunately, because Drogo did not begin showing symptoms until a late stage, it would have been difficult to impossible to detect and hence prevent the infection. By the time he was showing clinical signs on the morning of April 6, the progression of disease would have been too far along to stop.
As an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited institution, with excellent and compassionate animal care and veterinary staff, we have and will continue to follow all best practices for animal care and welfare.
“Drogo had been a centerpiece of the Greensboro Science Center since his arrival in September of 2016 and was loved by all who knew him, especially his dedicated care team.” Jessica Hoffman, VP of Animal Care and Welfare.
The GSC team is grateful for the public’s continued thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Greensboro Science Center 