Komodo << kuh MOH doh >> dragon is the largest living lizard. It grows to more than 10 feet (3 meters) long and can weigh as much as 365 pounds (165 kilograms). This giant monitor lizard lives only on the islands that now make up the Komodo National Park and in small areas of the nearby island of Flores. Indonesia’s government created Komodo National Park in 1980 for the protection of the native Komodo dragon.
Komodo dragons have scaly bodies with long necks, strong claws, and sharp, sawlike teeth. They frequently eat meat that they scavenge. Their forked tongues have an organ of smell that helps them detect rotting animals several miles or kilometers away. Dragons are also effective predators. They have enough speed and strength to overpower deer, wild pigs, and even water buffaloes. Dragons have killed a small number of people.
Komodo dragon
The female Komodo dragon usually lays 15 to 30 eggs in a nest. Her eggs hatch in eight to nine months, and the young may take five years to mature. Dragons can live for 50 years.
Komodo dragons have become endangered because people destroyed the lizards’ habitat or overhunted their prey. People also trapped dragons to sell them as pets or killed them for their body parts. Indonesia now protects dragons from poachers, and biologists are attempting to save their habitat. Also, many zoos have established successful dragon breeding programs.
