WHERE IS THE KOMODO DRAGON NOW?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Visitors sometimes inquire about certain items they remember seeing here at The Haggin Museum years ago but are no longer on display. One of more interesting items is profiled below.

THE KOMODO DRAGON

From its beginning, The Haggin Museum was both an art and local history museum. It has, however, occasionally strayed from its primary foci and dabbled in Natural History. Case in point: the Komodo Dragon.

A stuffed specimen of this giant lizard was presented to the museum and went on display in November of 1934. Originally brought back from Komodo Island alive, it had died in captivity and was mounted in St. Louis. It immediately drew the attention of museum visitors and newspaper columnists. The 10 foot long reptile was referred to as "Minnie" in a May 4, 1935 STOCKTON RECORD article, but two weeks later a correction was published, stating that the original owner had named the animal "Oscar."

The popular beast remained on display for nearly 40 years, but "Oscar" was beginning to look a bit threadbare. During that time many a hand had petted, poked or peeled away parts of the lonely lizard. In the early 1970s it was given to the Nature Center in Tilden Park, where was both restored and identified as a female. In the 1990s she was given to La Sierra University’s Museum of Natural History in Riverside, California, and is currently on display—answering now to the name "Lizzie."

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