Guest Post by Morbo
Just in time for Christmas, an 8-year-old komodo dragon at a zoo in Chester, England, is about ready to pull off a virgin birth.
The reptile, known as Flora, will probably give birth to seven little dragonettes any day now. Here’s the catch: Flora has never been exposed to a male komodo dragon and apparently knocked herself up using a process known as parthenogenesis — asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis has been observed in other reptile species before but was unknown in komodo dragons until recently.
The Religious Right must be throwing fits. For starters, we all know the only proper way to produce offspring is through an opposite-sex union within the context of a marriage. Flora is going to be a single mom!
To make matters worse, evil scientists are speculating that Flora was able to do this through an evolutionary adaptation. It’s yet another blow to creationism. This stunt obviously cannot be the result of intelligent design. After all, why would the designer endow komodo dragons with the ability to engage in such bizarre, anti-family behavior?
And to think all of this is happening at Christmastime! What will we tell the children? Will we now have to add huge komodo dragons to our nativity scenes down at the town green?
Flora has clearly joined the war on Christmas, but for those depraved souls out there who want to send her good wishes (or gold, frankincense and myrrh), feel free to contact the Chester Zoo at Upton-by-Chester, Chester, U.K., CH2 1LH. (Seriously, the zoo has a cool website with updates.) Also, here is a neat site about komodo dragons; they’re pretty amazing animals, whether James Dobson thinks so or not.