Komodo Dragon

## King of the lizards

There are over 3,000 lizard species, but the Komodo dragon wins the prize for being the largest living lizard in the world! It is a type of monitor lizard, an ancient species of reptile with ancestors that date back more than 100 million years. Komodo dragons were unknown by western scientists until 1912, and their common name came from rumors of a large dragon-like lizard occurring in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Indeed, the yellow color of the Komodo dragon's long, forked tongue reminds people of mythical dragons that spit fire!

These large lizards range in color from black to yellow-gray, depending on their location, and have a rough, durable skin reinforced with osteoderms (bony plates) protecting them from injuries from scratches and bites. Komodo dragons also have a large, muscular tail and long, powerful claws.

## A dragon's lair

Komodo dragons live on only five islands in southeastern Indonesia: Indonesia’s four islands within Komodo National Park (Komodo, Rinca, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami), and the island of Flores. The islands are volcanic in origin, rugged and hilly, and covered with both forest and savanna grassland. Komodo dragons have the smallest home range of any large predator in the world! They like it hot, with daytime temperatures during the dry season that often reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) with 70-percent humidity.

Some dragons scratch shallow burrows to rest in at night to keep warm and as a cool shelter to retreat to from the heat of the day. They may either make their own burrows or use an existing one another lizard created.  Sometimes these burrows can be seen along the slopes of dry streambeds among tree roots. However, not all Komodo dragons use burrows; in fact, one adult male on Komodo Island often sleeps at night in an abandoned hut that visitors used to stay in!

## A day in the life

An adult dragon leads a life of leisure. It emerges from its burrow to look for a sunny spot to warm up in. Then it's off to find breakfast, followed by a nice long nap in the shade during the hottest part of the day. After a late afternoon meal, the dragon is ready for bed, sleeping soundly in its burrow until a new day begins. It is a solitary creature that lives and hunts alone.

## Meat seekers

An adult Komodo dragon eats whatever food is available. Its natural prey, however, is the Timor deer. The deer are wary and quite agile, requiring the dragon to resort to lying in ambush in the long grass next to game trails, in order to be successful in hunting. When the deer passes by, the dragon uses its long claws and sharp teeth to attack. If the prey escapes, the dragon can rely on its long tongue to find its whereabouts, even up to a mile away (1.6 kilometers) away!

Komodo dragons also eat water buffalo and wild pigs, both of which were introduced by man, as well as snakes and fish that wash up on the shore. On Rinca and Komodo islands, pigs have become common in some areas and are now competitors for food with the big lizards. Some dragons have visible scars from conflicts with wild boars. Komodo dragons may also be cannibalistic. Fortunately, the young spend their lives in trees, which likely helps reduce their risk of predation from the adults.

## Deadly spit?

In addition, Komodo dragon saliva contains potentially harmful bacteria that are thought to help weaken prey that are too large for a single dragon to overpower. One study discovered 23 species of bacteria in the saliva of wild dragons, yet only 10 species of bacteria in the saliva of dragons in zoos. Some recent research suggests that Komodo dragons might also be venomous due to some of the properties of components in their saliva. Whether they are venomous or not is subject to interpretation at this time; it is too early to make this conclusion until more research is done.

## Preparing for motherhood

Like many reptiles, the number of Komodo dragon females that nest every year often changes, due to the availability of prey and the physical condition of the female. In the wild, female dragons do not breed every year. During these “rest” years, females recover from the energy costs incurred by their bodies from egg production during fertile years.

Female dragons use three different nest types for their eggs: hillside nests, ground nests, and mound nests built by the orange-footed scrub fowl.  Females often dig decoy nest chambers to discourage predators, including male Komodos and other female dragons, from disturbing existing nests sites when digging their own nests.

The orange-footed scrub fowl builds nests made of leaves and debris, forming a natural incubator from the heat produced from the decomposing leaves. It is easy to distinguish the source of nest-building activities, as the scrub fowl nests from January to April while the female Komodo dragons’ nest digging occurs in August and September. One study indicated that female Komodo dragons showed a marked preference for selecting mound nests over hillside and ground nests.

## I can't wait to grow up!

Komodo dragons begin their life in an egg the size of a grapefruit. The female lays between 15 and 30 eggs and sometimes guards her eggs for up to three months until they hatch. Life for a young dragon is not easy. As soon as the baby hatches, it scrambles out of the nest and scurries up the nearest tree, so the adults won’t eat it. That’s right - adult dragons regard the hatchlings as easy meals! Fortunately for the babies, the adults are too heavy and clumsy to climb trees.

Youngsters live in the trees eating anything that fits into their mouth: eggs, grasshoppers, beetles, and geckos. However, their primary diet is the Tokay gecko, an aggressive lizard itself with an unmistakably loud call! The young dragons find them most often in the hollows of tree trunks where the geckos' nest and shelter. When they are about 4 years old and 4 feet long (1.2 meters), the Komodo dragons are large enough to try life on the ground.

## Dwarf dragons?

On the smaller islands of Gili Motang and Gili Dasami, within Komodo National Park, the Komodo dragons were discovered to be notably smaller than those found on the nearby islands of Rinca and Flores. Genetically these dragons were found to be related to those on neighboring islands, so what could account for the discrepancy is size? Gili Motang, for example, is not as high in elevation as Rinca and Komodo, lacks a cloud forest at its peak, and has a much drier climate than does neighboring Rinca and Flores.  In fact, freshwater has not been observed on Gili Motang!

Furthermore, the density and number of Timor deer was found to be much lower as well on both of these islands. It is believed that the dragons on these islands are merely adapting to a reduced food supply by decreasing body size in response to a decreased availability of food. The Komodo dragons on these islands are quite wary, and it is thought that cannibalism is a greater threat to young dragons here than on the larger islands.