Naga

Naga is a female Philippine sailfin dragon (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) at the Birmingham Zoo. In February 2021, after three years of trying to incubate her eggs, baby sailfin dragons hatched from three eggs she had buried almost 12" deep: Ezekiel, Nat, and Tony.

Philippine sailfin dragons are oviparous lizards living only in the Philippines. They are excellent swimmers and have flattened toes that enable them to run across water, similar to the basilisks. The dragons have now classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conversation of Nature (IUCN).

At the time of her children's hatchings, only 12 zoos in the United States had the species in their collections and only the Birmingham and San Diego Zoos to have successfully bred the lizards in the previous year.

References

• Helean, Jack (February 10, 2021). "Birmingham zoo announces births of rare baby 'Dragons'." ABC 33-40.