Komodo Dragon Facts
Komodo Dragon Facts
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Komodo dragons look like mythical creatures, but in fact, they are just large lizards. They live on 4 island of Indonesia: Komodo, Flores, Rinca and Gili Motang. These animals are very old (exist for millions of years), but they are discovered 100 years ago, when plane accidentally landed on the island. Komodo dragons got their name by the island where they are found - Komodo Island. They are listed as "vulnerable" because human activity and natural disasters reduced their number significantly in the past century.
| Interesting Komodo Dragon Facts: |
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| Komodo dragons are the largest lizards. They can reach 10 feet in length and weigh up to 200 pounds. |
| They are carnivores (meat-eaters) who like to eat pigs, deer, snakes, fish and water buffalos. Adult komodo dragons are cannibals (eat their own species) and 10% of their diet is made of newly hatched Komodo dragons. |
| They can eat prey that weighs 80% of their own weight. Unlike other animals, they will eat bones and hooves. |
| Adult dragons have gray, brown or reddish color of their skin. Young animals have green body covered with black and yellow stripes. |
| Komodo has forked tongue (like snakes). It uses its tongue to detect a prey by smell. They can locate the prey that is 4 miles away using their sensitive tongues. |
| They usually hunt during the day because they don't see well during the night. Other than that, Komodo has poor sense of hearing. |
| Komodo dragons have reddish saliva that contains 50 different types of bacteria. Only one bite induces blood poisoning of their prey. |
| Recent experiments showed that saliva contains venom that probably contributes to a deadly effect of bite. |
| Komodo dragons often fight with other dragons. They bite each other during the fight, but unlike other animals, they are immune to bacteria from their saliva. |
| Since they are cold-blooded animals, they spend much time on the sun to heat themselves. During rainy season, they will hide in their burrows to prevent heat loss. |
| Komodo dragons are great swimmers. They can swim from one island to another. |
| Komodo dragon can run 13 miles per hour. |
| During reproductive season, female lays 15-30 eggs in the hole in the ground. Their eggs look like balloons filled with water. Baby lizards use "egg tooth" to crack the shell from the inside. They will live on the trees from the moment they are born because adult Komodo dragons can't climb (and eat them). |
| Even without partners, female Komodo dragon can produce eggs. This type of reproduction is called asexual reproduction. |
| They can live more than 30 years in the wild, but only few years in captivity. |
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