Cologne (dpa / lnw) - The world's first documented pair of twins of an endangered monitor lizard species was born in Cologne Zoo. "Twin births are - similar to us humans - rather the exception, and if we look at the monitor lizards, there are over 80 species of monitor lizards worldwide, and twins are only known in eight species," said Thomas Ziegler, head of the aquarium and Terrarium department in Cologne Zoo, on Thursday.
According to the zoo, the Mitchells monitors that were born six days ago are among the rarest and most endangered monitor lizard species on earth. The species is originally native to northern Australia, but is endangered by the poisonous cane toad that has been introduced there. Regionally, the stock has already declined by 97 percent. "Outside of Australia, there are seven zoos around the world that keep these monitor lizards. And we've now managed to breed them," said Ziegler. A monitor lizard can lay up to 27 eggs.
The goal is to build a reserve population to save the endangered species. In the long term, the animals should ideally be released back into the wild. The parents of the twins came to the zoo last year as a result of an official confiscation.
According to a nurse, the siblings are exactly the same size and actually loners - but the two have also liked to hide together under the same piece of cork.
