Welcome, Saphira and Hendrix! Fresno zoo adds Komodo dragon and rescued sea lion

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo this week announced two new animals: a female Komodo dragon, Saphira, and a rescued male sea lion, Hendrix.

Saphira is Fresno's first female Komodo dragon. There are hopes she will someday mate with the zoo's male Komodo dragon, Budak, so Fresno can have its first baby Komodo dragons.

There are also hopes to move the reptile family into an Asian exhibit that's expected to be finished by 2020.

Saphira was hatched at the Memphis Zoo in 2013. She was later transferred to the Jacksonville Zoo and arrived in Fresno on May 17. After a 30-day quarantine period, she will reside in the current Komodo dragon exhibit in the zoo's reptile building.

Seven-year-old Budak will be moved to the old coati exhibit, near Safari Café, after it's renovated sometime this summer. Zoo curator Mark Halvorsen said Komodo dragons have solitary tendencies and won't want to be together at all times.

Earlier this week, the zoo announced the arrival of Hendrix on May 16 from the Oklahoma City Zoo. Hendrix was rescued by The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito and is approximately 5 years old.

After a 30-day quarantine period, he will join the zoo’s three sea lions, two harbor seals and two brown pelicans in the Sea Lion Cove exhibit.

“Our hope is that we will now be able to start a breeding program with our sea lions," said Lyn Myers, general curator at Fresno Chaffee Zoo. "Before Hendrix arrived, we were unable to have a breeding pair of sea lions since our male, Wishbone, is blind and we don’t want to potentially pass that genetic defect on to a pup.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Welcome, Saphira and Hendrix! Fresno zoo adds Komodo dragon and rescued sea lion."