An expedition from the Buitenborg Zoological Museum in Java visited the island and published a report on the creature which proved to be a giant monitor lizard. This report remained largely unknown. In 1926 an expedition from the American Museum of Natural History captured two live specimens and brought back twelve dead specimens. The Komodo Dragon is the largest known lizard in the world. Males can reach lengths exceeding three meters and weigh over 125 kg.
Females are smaller.
The Dragon is a member of the monitor lizard family. There are less than 5,000 dragons in the wild, of which only a few hundred are breeding females. The dragons are carnivorous and can bring down prey much larger than themselves, including human beings. Padar and Rintja are official nature reserves for both the lizard and its prey. Commercial trading in dragons or their skin is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.