Dragons do exist!
The Komodo dragon is the world's largest flesh-eating lizard and
living reptile. This amazing creature is only found in the wild on
four small Indonesian islands, where they are vulnerable to disease,
volcanic activity, and competition with feral dogs and man. It lives
on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, and Flores.
The Komodo is an endangered species and there are only about 5,000 of
them in existence around the world, including a small number kept and
bred in zoos.
This giant lizard can grow to 3 meters (10 feet) long, and has an
average weight of 70 kg (155 pounds). Komodo dragons are dangerous
predators with sharp serrated teeth more like a shark's than a
reptile's. Swift runners, they can swim and climb trees, and they can
use their tail as a weapon and swing it like a club. They find most of
their food by smell. Like snakes they 'taste' the air with their
tongues, which are deeply forked and collect scent molecules from the
air. They have an acute sense of smell and can detect the scent of
decaying remains from up to 5km (3 miles).
While Komodos like to eat dead things, they also prey on wild pigs,
water buffalo and deer. They have a huge capacity for food, often
eating up to half of their body weight in one meal. They are also
cannibalistic, sometimes eating their own kind. They eat almost all of
a carcass, consuming flesh, skin and even bones. A large Komodo can
swallow a whole wild pig; their jaws expand like a snake's.
Their bite is often lethal because the bacteria in their mouths is so
poisonous that wounds often do not heal, and their victim, if it
manages to escape, dies in a day or two.
Although often regarded as pests, Komodos are not a serious danger to
humans. In order to protect the dragon, the Indonesian government has
made the islands of Padar and Rinca into nature reserves for both the
lizard and its prey. Commercial trade in specimens or skins is illegal
under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
The Komodo dragon can live up to 40 years. Although often regarded as
pests, Komodos are not a serious danger to humans. In order to protect
the dragon, the Indonesian government has made the islands of Padar
and Rinca into nature reserves for both the lizard and its prey.
Commercial trade in specimens or skins is illegal under the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species.
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