Komodo dragon or modern Dragons (12 pics + text)

Komodo Park is located in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. The park consists of three islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and a huge number of islets and coral reefs.

Komodo dragon Komodo dragon or (lat. Varanus komodoensis) - a lizard of the family of lizards. The largest of the modern lizards can reach three meters in length. Komodo dragon endangered because of human activities. View listed in the Red Book.




Wild adult Komodo dragons weigh about 70 kg, but in captivity and reach larger sizes. The biggest wild specimen for which there is reliable information, had a length of 3, 13 m and weighed 166 kg, including the more undigested food. [1]

At the present time, due to a sharp reduction in the number of large ungulates (deer, buffalo) on the islands due to poaching, even adult males lizards are forced to switch to a smaller food: birds, rodents, eggs, lizards, insects, etc. . Because of this, the average size of lizards gradually decreasing and now stands at about 75% of the average size of mature individuals of 10 years ago. Hunger is often the cause of death of lizards.