Komodo Dragons Threatened By Climate Change, Report Says : NPR

In this photograph taken in 2010, a Komodo dragon prowls the shore of Komodo island, the natural habitat of the world’s largest lizard.

Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images

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In this photograph taken in 2010, a Komodo dragon prowls the shore of Komodo island, the natural habitat of the world’s largest lizard.

Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images

Scaly and with forked tongues, Komodo dragons are the largest lizards to still walk the Earth.

But their days here may be numbered.

A new report from an international biodiversity conservation organization says the fearsome reptiles are edging closer to global extinction.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, an assessment of the health of tens of thousands of species across the globe, Komodo dragons have gone from “vulnerable” to “endangered.”

Why is the Komodo dragon — or Varanus komodoensis — so threatened? Climate change.

Rising global temperatures and higher sea levels, IUCN says, will reduce the Komodo dragon’s habitat by at least 30% over the next 45 years.

“The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying,” said Dr. Andrew Terry, conservation director of the Zoological Society of London.

Komodo dragons are native to Indonesia and only live in Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as the nearby island of Flores, according to IUCN.

“While the subpopulation in Komodo National Park is currently stable and well protected, Komodo dragons outside protected areas in Flores are also threatened by significant habitat loss due to ongoing human activities,” the report says.

Sharks and rays face major threats

The Red List update, released on Saturday and one day after the IUCN World Conservation Congress got underway in Marseille, bears other bad news.

Of the shark and ray species tracked by IUCN, some 37% are now threatened with extinction.

A zebra shark swims at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., in 2012. The zebra shark is considered “endangered” by the IUCN.

Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

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Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

A zebra…