Flora, who had been with us since 1999, had been suffering from ill-health and was receiving veterinary care.
Despite the best efforts of both the keeping and veterinary teams, sadly Flora passed away.
Flora was something of a zoo superstar – in December 2006 she made headlines around the world when we were able to prove that Komodo Dragons can reproduce through self-fertilisation, a process known as parthenogenesis.
Flora laid a clutch of 11 eggs with paternity testing later proving she was both the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ of the fertile eggs. Flora’s story, which was first told in the scientific journal Nature, went on to capture global interest.
Dr Gerardo Garcia, Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates, said: “Flora was undoubtedly one of the world’s most famous Komodo Dragons and during her lifetime she played a very special part in helping us to understand more about this amazing species.
“Flora will be remembered fondly and much missed and I would like to thank those who have looked after her.”