Los Angeles Zoo is home to 22 baby Komodo dragons

Ancient predators: In this file photo a pair of Komodo dragons look for food on Komodo Island, Flores regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. -- JP/Ricky Yudhistira

Twenty-two Komodo dragons have hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo this month, giving a modest boost to the world's endangered population.

The zoo's adult female Komodo, Lima, laid the eggs on Jan. 22. The first one popped through its soft-sided egg shell on Aug. 8 and hatchlings kept coming for two weeks.

Komodos are the world's largest lizards and are popular attractions at zoos from the United States to Europe. All 2,500 left in the wild can be found at the 700 square mile (1,813 square kilometer) Komodo National Park in Indonesia.

Komodos are cannibalistic and usually eat their young and eggs of their own species, so zoo officials say staying alive is tricky for a hatchling.

This is the first time the Los Angeles Zoo has succeeded at a breeding attempt. It joins fewer than 10 other zoos in North America that have made it work.

Eleven babies will eventually go to the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and the others will go to zoos assigned by the Species Survival Program, curator Ian Recchio said Thursday. Los Angeles will just keep Lima and the adult male, Buru.

It is exciting to know "the hatchlings from this clutch will go on to help ensure the survival of the species," Recchio said.