The Costumed Komodo

I can't talk about the practice of zoo animals wearing costumes without mentioning one of the quirkier experiences of my career.  A casual acquaintance of mine - not someone I know terribly well, more by face and reputation - was a reptile keeper at a large Southern zoo.  Among her charges - and her favorite - was a very large male Komodo dragon.

A Komodo dragon is a large, powerful animal, one with the potential to inflict a lot of harm on a keeper.  Still, they are very intelligent, charismatic animals, and keepers can easily get attached to them.  She was certainly attached to this big boy.  One of the ways that she expressed it was by periodically dressing him up in costumes. 

This wasn't something that she did for zoo PR or anything.  She just did it for fun.  I'm not sure if she just took them around Halloween, or if it was whenever the fancy struck her.  Of course she took pictures, but these she only shared among a close number of friends.

These pics didn't stay with her friends, however.  They were shared (this was, admittedly, in the early days of social media, so we were all a bit more naive back then - I don't have any saved).  I remember seeing two of them, shown to me by friends she had sent them to.  In one, the dragon was Harry Potter, with a pair of glasses, a red-and-yellow striped scarf, and a lightning bolt scar drawn between this eyes.  In the other, he was a pirate, with a pirate hat and a plastic hook cupped over his front paw (no eye-patch).  In both, he looked fairly ridiculous.

Eventually, these pictures found their way to the attention of her bosses, who were... less than pleased.  She was told in no uncertain that the costume shenanigans were to end.  As far as I know, they did.  She's still employed there, as far as I know.  Maybe she just decided not to share anymore.

The picture below is a different Komodo at a different zoo (St. Augustine Alligator Farm).  He's not wearing a full costume either, just a party hat, to celebrate its birthday.  Perhaps just getting that on him was exciting enough.

Photo Credit: St. Augustine Record