by Laurie Childree

Created on: December 06, 2008   Last Updated: December 23, 2008

The knowledge of the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodonensis) has only been available to people for about a hundred years although they have been around for millions existing on the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia living in grasslands and tropical forests.

-What do they look like?-

Komodo dragons can reach up to ten feet in length can weigh over three hundred pounds making them the heaviest lizard in the world out of all three thousand species of lizards. The skin of the Komodo Dragon is scaly with bowed legs, muscular tails and flat heads that have round snouts. It is the long forked tongues yellow coloration that gives it the image of a dragon from fork lore.

-What does the Komodo Dragon eat?-

The diet of the Komodo dragon which consists mainly of meat proves that it's not a picky animal. They will eat deer, pigs, smaller dragons and large animals such as buffalo and even people. The Komodo dragon will even feed on dead animals using its tongue to get smells up to a mile away out of the air. Patience and camouflage are the two things that are relied upon when attempting to find food. When the intended prey crosses their path they use powerful legs, sharp claws and teeth like a shark to lay claim to it. Even when prey escapes it doesn't live more than a day due to the multitude of bacteria in the salvia that causes blood poisoning. These animals are then found by smell and eaten with other dragons joining in the meal eventually causing a fight to follow; up to eighty percent of the Komodo dragon's body weight can be eaten at once.

-Habits of the Komodo Dragon-

These creatures burrow and leave the burrows in the day to find a spot in the sun to get warm. After which it will seek out its breakfast and then take a nap during the hottest portion of the day in shade it has found. Another meal is eaten in the late evening and then it's back to the burrow for the night and they aren't seen again until morning. The Komodo dragon is a solitary animal that hunts and lives alone.

-The young-

When the young Komodo dragons hatch they dig out of the nests its mother has dug and climb the closest tree to avoid being eaten by adult dragons. The adults can't climb trees because of their massive weight. Eggs, beetles, geckos and grasshoppers make up the diet of the baby Komodo dragon while it lives in the tree for the first four years of its life. Once they reach the age of four and a length of four feet they are ready to attempt living on the ground.

-Status of the Komodo Dragon

With about three to five thousand Komodo dragons on the islands of Gila Montang, Komodo, Flores and Rinca they are listed as endangered due to poaching, people in their habitat, natural disasters and the dying of egg-laying females. People are not only disturbing the habitats but they are hunting the same animals that these creatures eat for survival. The fact that the Komodo dragons eat dead animals helps to keep the island clean.

Sources:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/ animals/reptiles/komodo-dragon.html

http://www.sandie gozoo.org/animalbytes/t-komodo.html

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