Komodo dragon
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? Komodo
dragon Conservation status:
Vulnerable
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| Varanus
komodoensis Ouwens, 1912 |
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The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest lizard in the world, growing to an average length of 2-3 meters (10 feet). In the wild large adults tend to weigh around 70kg (154 pounds). Captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified specimen was 3.13 meters (10 feet 3 inches) long and weighed 166kg (365 pounds) including undigested food. [1] It is a member of the monitor lizard family, Varanidae, and inhabits various islands in Indonesia. The papua monitor, Varanus salvadorii may surpass the Komodo in length but it is slimmer and weighs less. [2]
They are carnivorous and hunt live prey, with a stealthy approach followed by a sudden short charge, during which they can run briefly at speeds up to 20 km/h. Komodo Dragons are not venomous, but the serations along their teeth create an ideal niche for over 50 different strains of bacteria. If their initial bite does not kill the prey, and it escapes, the deadly infections caused by the bacteria living in the Dragons teeth kill it within a week. Then the Komodo Dragon descends upon it to feed on its dead flesh.
The Komodo dragon's prey is wide ranging, and includes wild pigs, goats, deer, and water buffaloes. In the wild they have also been observed to eat other young Komodo dragons. Occasionally they have been known to eat humans and human corpses. Over a dozen human deaths have been attributed to dragon bites in the last century, though there are reports of survivors of the resulting septicemia.
Mating occurs between May and August, with the eggs laid in September. The female lays her eggs in the ground or in tree hollows, which lends them protection. Clutches usually contain an average of 20 eggs, and have an incubation period of 7 months. However, after the hatchlings are born, they are generally defenceless and many do not survive. Young Komodo dragons generally spend their first few years living in trees where they have a higher rate of survival. Komodo dragons take around five years to mature, growing to 2 metres in length, and they can live for up to 30 years.
There are approximately 6,000 living Komodo dragons, restricted to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia, including the islands of Komodo (1,700), Rinca (1,300), Gili Motang (100) and Flores (maybe 2,000).
Sightings of the Komodo dragon were first reported to Europeans in 1910. Widespread knowledge came after 1912, in which Peter Ouwens, the director of the Zoological Museum at Bogor, Java, published a paper on the topic. In 1980 the Komodo National Park was founded to help protect their population.
Media
Videos of the Varanus komodoensis at Disney's Animal Kingdom
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