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Komodo firedrake are the largest bread and butter lizard in the populace . They are identify by their massive size , flat heads , bow down wooden leg and long , thick tails . The name comes from rumors that a dragon - like creature survive on the Indonesian island of Komodo . No Western scientist had seen a Komodo dragon until 1912 , according to the San Diego Zoo . Local people call them " ora , " or " acres crocodile . "
Size & characteristics
The medium size of a male Komodo firedrake is 8 to 9 foot and about 200 lbs . , grant to theSmithsonian National Zoological Park , but they can pass on a walloping 10 foot ( 3 meter ) in length . Females uprise to 6 feet ( 1.8 m ) .
Komodos come in a variety of color , include downhearted , orangish , greenish and gray-headed . Their skin is rough and long-lasting , reward with bony plate called osteoderms . They have foresightful claws and a large , muscular tush .
Komodos have good visual sensation ; they can see object as far away as 985 foot ( 300 m ) , according to the Smithsonian Zoo . They are also speedy . They can guide briefly up to 13 mph ( 20 kilometres per hour ) but prefer to hunt by stealth — waiting for hour until prey cross their path .
Komodo dragons have long, forked tongues that they use to help smell and taste.
Their sentiency of smell is their main food demodulator , however . grant to the Smithsonian Zoo , Komodo dragons , like snakes , use their forked tongue to sample the air , and then touch the tongue to the roof of their mouth , where special organs analyze the airborne molecules . If the odd knife tip has more saturated " odor , " the dragon knows that their prey is approaching from the leftfield .
Habitat
Komodos are very rare and are found in the wilderness only on five islands : the Lesser Sunda Islands of Komodo , Rinca , Gili Montang and Gili Dasami — all within Komodo National Park — and the island of Flores , where the Komodo roams freely .
The lizard ’s habitat can be anything from a tropical ironic forest to a savanna to a deciduous monsoon forest . No matter where they live on , the Komodo likes utmost heat . It is usually around 95 degrees Fahrenheit ( 35 degrees Celsius ) with 70 - percent humidity on the islands of Indonesia , harmonise to theSan Diego Zoo .
Komodos have dual - purpose homes . To stay strong at Nox , they make or find burrows to nestle down in . During the day the same tunnel keeps them cool .
Komodo Dragon Babies
Diet
Komodo firedrake are carnivore , meaning they run through meat . They are such fierce hunter they can eat very prominent fair game , such as large water buffalo , deer , carrion , fuzz and even humans . They will also corrode smaller dragons . They can eat on 80 percent of their eubstance weight in one eating , according to theNational Geographic .
The Komodo has a unique way of killing its target . First , it springs up and tap the target over with its huge groundwork . Then they utilize their precipitous , serrate teeth — which are a mass like a shark ’s — to shred their prey to death . If the fair game hightail it , it will die within 24 hour of blood poisoning because the Komodo ’s spit contains 50 strains of bacteria , according to National Geographic . With its fantastic sense of smell , the Komodo will happen the beat animal and finish its meal .
According to the San Diego Zoo , while recent research suggests that Komodo flying dragon are venomous due to their saliva , more subject field are needed before nominate such a conclusion .
Offspring
Komodo dragons are generally solitary outside of mating time of year . male maintain and fight back a territory and patrol up to 1.2 miles ( 2 kilometers ) per twenty-four hour period . Komodo dragons mate between May and August andfemales lie about 30 eggseach in September .
Komodo dragon mothers will also build decoy nests to confuse predator and keep her eggs safe . Then she will incubate the Citrus paradisi - sized egg for around three months . This group of egg is called a clutch .
Female Komodo Draco can have virginal giving birth . This imply that they do n’t need a male person to fecundate an ball for it to hatch . produce offspring without the assistance of the opposite sex is called asexual reproduction . Komodo dragon can reproduce through both sexual and asexual reproduction .
There is no evidence that parents deal for newly hatch Komodos , harmonize to the Smithsonian Zoo . At birth , baby dragons are only 12 inches ( 30 centimeters ) long . As soon as they hatch , the young will run away and climb up up trees to avoid being eat by their mother or other Komodos . When they are 4 years old and around 4 feet ( 1.2 m ) , the young Komodos will come down and subsist on the ground , allot to the San Diego Zoo . Those that survive can await forward to a foresightful life . A Komodo can live to more than 30 years .
Classification/taxonomy
Komodo dragons are a species of monitor lizard , which are turgid reptile establish in Africa and across Asia . The taxonomy of Komodo dragon , according to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information System(ITIS ) , is :
Conservation status
accord to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’sRed List of Threatened Species , the Komodo dragon is not endangered , but it is considered vulnerable . TheWorld Animal Foundationestimates the act of Komodos in the wild to be 6,000 . This population is split among the island , with 1,700 on Komodo , 1,300 on Rinca , 100 on Gili Motang and around 2,000 on Flores . They are protected within the Komodo National Park .
Komodo Draco hatch for the first time outside of Indonesia in 1992 at the Smithsonian Zoo , according to a zoo fact piece of paper . The menagerie report that four clutches have hatch and 55 offspring are now living in more than 30 menagerie around the Earth .
Additional resources
