Komodo dragons: description and photos. Komodo dragon, where it lives, interesting facts, photos, videos, food What kind of dragon is found on Komodo island

website - Let's dream together, today we will surprise you with facts about the most ancient lizard on the planet. Dragon from Komodo Island, have you heard of this? If not, then you have definitely seen the films.

It was these reptiles that became the prototype for the main character in horror films. They inspired directors to create the most incredible stories.

Giant monitor lizards actually exist: they are lizards from the island of Komodo.

Where do dragons live and how did they appear on the islands of Indonesia?

There is such a term: island gigantism. This is a natural phenomenon: in a closed and isolated space, from generation to generation, animals increase in size.

Almost like in the movie “Jurassic Park”, but there scientists created suitable conditions. But in Indonesia everything happened naturally. Although the theory is quite controversial.

A long time ago, in Australia (an isolated continent) and on the island of Java, huge predators lived and lived - giant monitor lizards. This is the home of dragons. The oldest fossilized remains of them date back to almost 4 million years ago. The extinction that befell many animal species during the Pleistocene era did not affect the Komodo dragons.

How did the lizards survive?

They promptly changed their location and took root on the islands of Indonesia closest to the continent. The ocean sank and rose. The continents moved, and they calmly waited on the islands. This helped save the lizards from extinction. So they ended up on the island of Flores and those nearby.

The giant monitor lizard lives only on five Indonesian islands - Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar.

What do lizards look like?

They are truly scary in appearance, scaly skin, and forked tongue, like a snake’s. They can reach up to 80 and sometimes up to 100 kilograms. They have venomous bites, allowing them to hunt and kill large animals and sometimes even people. But first things first.

The dark terracotta hide has many protective lamellar ossifications. This is a kind of “land crocodile” armor. The average lizard is not too huge: it weighs only 50 kilograms and is up to 3 meters in length. Sometimes there are specimens that want to get into the book of records and much more.

Komodo dragons have no direct predators

Loners in life

Komodo dragons are solitary predators. They gather in groups only for the period of mating games and during large hunts (there are also such).

They live in burrows up to 4-5 meters deep or in tree hollows (mostly young people). Everything is like people. Life expectancy is up to 45-50 years. Young monitor lizards easily climb trees.

Only large crocodiles and people can pose a direct threat to their lives.

Sprinters in the jungle

Despite their external clumsiness, these are capable of a lightning-fast ambush attack. Don't underestimate their abilities. In terms of speed, he can compete with a sprinter over short distances. Speeds up to 20 km/h.

A special hole under the tongue allows it to move and breathe at the same time when running. The pump pumps air and does not take away energy in pursuit, increasing endurance and chances of winning.

What do Komodo dragons eat?

Predatory lizards. My favorite food is meat. And it doesn’t matter at all whose. A large or small animal, fish, turtle or large insect. They can even eat a relative for lunch. They do not hesitate to tear open their own burrows with their cubs and feast on them. In the video below you can see him feasting on snake eggs.

Often, during periods of famine, they tear up fresh and not so fresh graves and eat the corpses. Therefore, the population of the islands (Indonesians) bury their inhabitants by covering the graves with cement slabs.

Hunting rules - the victim has no chance

Like crocodiles, giant monitor lizards severely injure their prey with their first bite. Ripping out huge chunks of muscle, breaking bones and tearing arteries. Therefore, the mortality rate from their bites is 99%. The victims have virtually no chance of survival.

In addition to severe trauma, the saliva of monitor lizards contains poison, which quickly causes sepsis. In the lower jaw of the mammal there are 2 poisonous glands, through which the poison enters.

Photos of the Komodo dragon only confirm speculation about extinct dinosaurs.

Sharp teeth rip through prey like a can opener

Unusual ability to reproduce without fertilization

The lizard population is 3:1, with many more males than females. Which makes the battle for the female a deadly tournament of the fittest.

They lay up to 20 eggs in deep burrows. For 9 whole months the female guards the nest with the offspring. Up to 2 years old, young individuals live in the crowns of trees.

These reptiles have the ability: parthenogenesis. Reproduction by sexual and non-sexual means. Eggs develop easily even without direct fertilization.

In case of storms and earthquakes. Females can reproduce without males.

Toxic monitor lizard saliva

The poison helps slow down the victim's blood clotting, causes muscle paralysis, sharply lowers blood pressure and causes hypothermia, followed by shock and loss of consciousness. This allows the predator to easily finish off and eat the unfortunate one.

The toxicity of saliva helps the predators themselves digest food faster.

Thanks to a good sense of smell and sense of smell, the smell of blood can easily determine the direction to the victim within a radius of 5–9 kilometers. A forked tongue also contributes to this.

In one meal they can eat up to 85% of their own body weight in meat. The stomach tends to stretch greatly.

The high immunity of Komodo dragons allows them to survive in adverse conditions with minimal losses

A quick way to have lunch

To swallow prey faster, they have come up with an unusual method.

They rest their prey against a tree or large stone and pull their body against it, bracing themselves with their paws.

They react sharply to even the slightest smell of blood. There are known cases of attacks on tourists with minor scratches on their arms or legs.

The high immunity of Komodo dragons allows them to survive in adverse conditions with minimal losses.

For a long time it was assumed that the saliva of lizards contains a large number of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. Until 2009, this was believed to be the case, until Brian Fry’s research proved that the venom of lizards is not as toxic and poisonous as that of snakes.

They react acutely to even the slightest smell of blood

Unusual strategy in dragon hunting

The lizard's jaws are not as strong as those of its closest relative, the crocodile. And they lose noticeably in newtons. 2600 N versus almost 7,000 N of the crocodile. The monitor lizard has a much weaker grip, so an unusual attack strategy is used.

As we already wrote in the article, they tear apart their prey by making chaotic head movements. Waving in all directions, finishing off the unfortunate man and dragging him into the water.

Lizards have a different tactic: having firmly grabbed the animal, they begin to pull it in their direction, bracing themselves with powerful paws and helping with long claws.

Sharp teeth rip open the victim like a can opener. Pieces of flesh are torn off and fatal wounds are inflicted. Violent jerks towards oneself and rotation of the neck allow one to inflict wounds that are incompatible with life.
In such a fight there is only one winner - the Komodo monitor lizard.

Video: 8 facts about the Komodo dragon

They have no direct predators (by the way, neither do humans), and currently they feel quite at ease. It’s as if they are waiting for the right moment to lead the hierarchy. True, they do not increase in size. Maybe this is it for now?

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Today there are only a few large reptiles left on Earth, the most terrible of which is the Komodo dragon, living in. Cold-blooded and not very smart, this predator, however, has a chilling sense of purpose,” this is how the famous astrophysicist Carl Sagan described Komodo dragons.

THE DISCOVERER OF THE KOMODO DIANA

The plane's engine sneezed and worked intermittently; fortunately, an island appeared right ahead, and the Dutch pilot Hendrik Van Bosse did everything possible to reach the saving land. The plane literally plowed a small beach on its belly and stuck its nose into the dense vegetation of the tropical forest. The pilot hurriedly got out of the cockpit and, limping, ran away from the plane, and half-dressed natives were already hurrying towards him, shouting excitedly. I will disappoint the most bloodthirsty readers: the pilot was not eaten, he was very cordially received by the inhabitants of the small island of Komodo, part of the Sunda archipelago.

The mountainous islet, 30 km long and 20 km wide, was covered in tropical forest, which locals said was home to “buayadarat,” or “earth crocodiles.” According to them, crocodiles reached 6-7 meters in length and calmly hunted deer and even attacked buffalo. During one of the walks, the pilot himself was able to verify the veracity of their stories, when the “log” lying in front of him suddenly came to life, rose on four powerful legs and waddled away into the dense bushes.

According to another version of the development of events, the pilot did not meet anyone after the plane crash and lived as Robinson for almost a year in a remote part of the island. He had a firearm with him, so he did not go hungry, but he could not get used to the presence of living “dragons” on the island. Fearing that these creatures would eat him alive, he slept in the trees. The long-awaited ship still did not arrive, and he, like the hero of the popular film “Cast Away,” made a desperate decision to embark on a risky voyage on the raft he had built. After a 57-day voyage full of hardships and dangers, the exhausted pilot reached the island of Timor.

When Hendrik Van Bosse found himself in Europe, literally only a few believed his stories about the huge Komodo dragons, and these were his closest relatives and friends. For some time, Komodo dragons became a real curse for Van Bosse; mocking articles were written about him, they called him a liar, and they said that he had lost his mind as a result of the plane crash. Finally, one English officer, who ventured to hunt dinosaurs in the footsteps of the “crazy pilot,” discovered to his great surprise that he was telling the truth.

With the discovery of living “dragons,” the torment of their discoverer Hendrik Van Bosse ended; now no one called him a liar or crazy, but months of persecution were not in vain for him. It is curious that Van Bosse retired from aviation and devoted the rest of his life to studying Komodo lizards. He died in 1938. On his grave there is an inscription: “Hendrick Arthur Maria Van Bosse, aviator - from an irrepressible thirst for knowledge; lone sailor - due to misfortune; the discoverer of Komodo monitor lizards - also due to misfortune; zoologist, doctor of natural sciences - as a result of deception, so as not to be considered a deceiver.”

SENSATION IN ZOOLOGY OF THE XX CENTURY

Komodo dragons turned out to be a large, previously unknown variety of monitor lizard. The discovery of Komodo dragons became one of the largest discoveries in zoology of the early 20th century. Alas, Chinese hunters and traders immediately flocked to the island: the cult of the dragon flourishes, and various potions made from “dragon bones” have always been in demand there and were highly valued. The skins of Komodo dragons and medicines made from their fat and bones were in great demand.

Scientists got down to business, and in 1938 a nature reserve was created on the islands (in addition to Komodo monitor lizards were found on the neighboring islands of Rindja, Flores, Padar, Oveda, Sami and Gili Motang). At the moment, the “monitor lizards” have the status of a national park. In 2013, the total number of monitor lizards was estimated at 3,222 individuals; in 2015, it decreased to 3,014 individuals, but in principle it remains quite stable. Alas, monitor lizards have become extinct on Padar; it is believed that this was due to the extermination of other animals on the island by poachers; the “dragons” were simply left without prey and died of starvation.

FORMID AND VORONIOUS PREDATOR

When they first arrived in Komodo, scientists did not find the 7-meter monitor lizards that local residents talked about, but 3-3.5-meter animals weighing from 130 to 160 kg were encountered quite often. Komodo dragons have attacked pigs, goats, and deer. They, of course, were not able to catch up with them; the monitor lizards simply slowly crept up, often freezing in the most absurd poses, towards the grazing animals, and then knocked them down with a powerful throw or a strong blow of their tail. There is a known case when a Komodo dragon managed to kill a powerful Indian buffalo weighing 500 kg.

The monitor lizard usually grabs the prey it catches with its mouth by the head or neck, then it makes a sharp movement, shaking the victim with such force that it breaks its vertebrae. First of all, the predatory reptile rips open the belly of the killed animal and eats its entrails with pleasure, only after that it begins to eat the skin, meat and bones. Scientists timed it and found that a Komodo dragon can completely eat a 20-kilogram pig in 30 minutes. In a matter of hours, 3-4 adult monitor lizards ate a large deer weighing 100 kg.

This speed of food absorption is not surprising, because monitor lizards have 26 powerful sharp teeth 4 cm long, and they are also capable of swallowing impressive pieces of meat. The scientists were greatly surprised when in the opened stomach of one of the reptiles they saw... half a wild boar. It is amazing that when eating a deer, monitor lizards even eat its horns and hooves. Young monitor lizards usually only fuss around their feasting parents; Scientists believe that under a hot hand (sorry, paw!), large individuals may well bite their smaller relatives.

Monitor lizards do not disdain carrion, bird eggs and even insects. Sometimes a monitor lizard bursts into a flock of monkeys that have descended from a tree and, taking advantage of the fact that the poor macaques are literally numb from shock, grabs one of them and literally swallows it alive. Monitor lizards often wander along the coast, looking for carrion thrown up by the waves. They are good swimmers and can cover considerable distances in the water, steering their tail like a rudder.

Our expedition also visited Komodo in the early 60s. This is how I. Darevsky, by the way, the largest Soviet herpetologist, very colorfully described the meeting of scientists with the Komodo dragon: “A monitor lizard calmly emerged from the thickets and, not paying any attention to us, leisurely wandered along the path after the wild boars. At the same time, he did not drag his body along the ground, like many other lizards, but held it on outstretched paws, high above the ground. This sight completely shocked us: illuminated by the evening sun, the huge lizard looked like a prehistoric monster, somewhat reminiscent of a giant dinosaur that had long disappeared from Earth. A snake-like head with black shiny eyes and gaping ear sockets, large hanging folds of orange-brown skin on the neck gave the animal a frightening and somehow fairy-tale appearance.”

Female monitor lizards lay up to 25 eggs, the size of which reaches a length of up to 10 centimeters. Until the hatching of the small monitor lizards, the female guards the clutch. When babies are born, they immediately climb trees to avoid being eaten by their taller relatives. The lifespan of Komodo dragons is about 50-60 years; in zoos it is halved. They live in deep burrows or in crevices among rocks. Young monitor lizards often use tree hollows as shelter.

"DRAGONS" AND PEOPLE

It is believed that Komodo dragons are not dangerous to humans, but such an opinion cannot be considered unambiguous. There was a case when a monitor lizard attacked children and as a result one boy died. In another case, a man was wounded because he did not share the deer he had shot with a monitor lizard. Scientists view these incidents as unfortunate accidents. In the first case, the monitor lizard could have mistaken the child for a large monkey, and in the second, he was misled by the smell of a deer.

The last victim of Komodo dragons was a Swiss naturalist in 1978. He had long dreamed of seeing these exotic reptiles and specially went to Indonesia to look at monitor lizards and get acquainted with their habits and life. During his stay on the island, the naturalist fell behind the group, apparently deciding to engage in independent research. No one saw him again. The searches undertaken yielded practically nothing; only the naturalist’s glasses and camera were found. Without a doubt, this man was eaten by monitor lizards. After this tragic incident, the rangers now do not leave tourists, scientists, or journalists arriving on the island for a moment.

Monitor lizards have an excellent sense of smell, they find graves and, if they are shallow, tear them up and eat the corpses, this, of course, causes great discontent among local residents. True, in recent years the graves began to be covered with massive slabs and their destruction by monitor lizards stopped. The sense of smell helps monitor lizards find carrion on the shore or a wounded animal at a very considerable distance.

Tourists with minor wounds and scratches and even women on so-called difficult days can arouse increased interest in monitor lizards and provoke their attack.

Monitor lizard bites are very dangerous. Due to the fact that they feed on carrion, their mouths contain a lot of pathogenic microbes; a reptile bite can lead to blood poisoning, loss of a limb, or death. In addition, scientists have established the presence of a poisonous gland in monitor lizards. It turns out that they are also poisonous. That is why these reptiles should not be considered safe. At the same time, monitor lizards in zoos usually do not cause any complaints from staff; they are obedient, peaceful and not picky about food.

Komodo dragon- the biggest lizard in the world! It is also called the Indonesian monitor lizard, and some individuals are simply amazing in their size. Varan can reach a length of 3 meters and a weight of 80-85 kg. One such representative is listed in the Guinness Red Book, weighing 91.7 kg from Komodo Island. Where does this huge lizard live and what does it eat in nature? How long can he live? This is exactly what we will talk about today, starting with the life expectancy of a monitor lizard.

How long does a Komodo dragon live?

Komodo dragons As a rule, they lead a solitary lifestyle; they can unite in a small group during the breeding season or while hunting. Their activity occurs during the daytime, but they can also be awake at night. Huge to hunt lizard goes out during the day, and in hot weather stays in the shade. They spend the night in their shelter, and in the morning they go hunting again.

How many years can a Komodo dragon live?

The Komodo dragon can live in nature about 50 years old. It was also recorded that one of the representatives lived for 62 years! By the way, an interesting fact is that the female lives 2 times less, i.e. female lifespan averages 25 years.

Where does the Komodo dragon live?

Komodo dragon can be found on the Indonesian islands: Gili Motang, Komodo, Flores, Rinch. The inhabitants of the island call it a land crocodile. The facts indicate that monitor lizard appeared more than 40 million years ago in Asia, then in Australia. And 15 million years ago it was discovered on the island of Timor, between Australia and Southwest Asia. Varan lives in areas well-warmed by the sun, for example, in tropical forests, dry plains, and savannas. During the hot period, it is located near dry river beds, hunts in the water, and is an excellent swimmer. Komodo dragon color dark brown with small yellow spots on the body. On skin small osteoderms (secondary cutaneous ossification). Monitor teeth pressed from the sides, they have sharp cutting edges, which allows them to open large prey. Likewise, on paws You can see long claws that help in hunting.

FOOD AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE KOMODO DIVINE

What does the Komodo dragon eat?

Juveniles feed snakes, birds, civets. They have no enemies as such in nature, except for humans, their relatives and saltwater crocodiles. Also, komodo dragon readily feeds on insects, fish, rats, sea turtles, lizards, livestock, cats and dogs, and baby crocodiles. More large individuals at 50 kg they hunt deer and wild boar. Scientists have proven that it is not so much sharp teeth and long claws that help in hunting, but rather the poison that is in the mouth lizards and bacteria that cause a rapid inflammatory process in the victim.

Interesting facts about the Komodo dragon

1. A long and forked tongue allows you to catch the scent of the victim

2.Varan bites the victim and waits for him to die from blood poisoning

3. At one time, vanan can eat 80% of its own weight

4. Mating monitor lizards occurs from May to August, the female can lay about 30 eggs

5.Monitor lizards have excellent vision, can see prey at a distance of 300 meters

6. After eating monitor lizard belly increases

7. Komodo dragon It feeds not only on living creatures, but also on the skin of the victim, its bones and even its hooves.

VIDEO: Komodo monitor

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL SEE WHAT A KOMODO DIANA LOOKS LIKE AND YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF INTERESTING ABOUT ITS LIFE IN THE WILD

September 17th, 2015

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the governor of the island of Flores (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbrouck, that giant creatures unknown to science lived on the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda archipelago.

Van Stein's report stated that in the vicinity of Labuan Badi on Flores Island, as well as on nearby Komodo Island, there lives an animal that the local natives call "buaya-darat", which means "earth crocodile".

Of course, you already guessed who we’re talking about now...

Photo 2.

According to local residents, some monsters reach seven meters in length, and three- and four-meter buaya darats are common. The curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at the Botanical Park of West Java Province, Peter Owen, immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition in order to obtain a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Hensbroek sent her skin and photographs to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy, since the natives were terrified of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the zoological museum sent an animal capture specialist to Flores. As a result, the staff of the zoological museum managed to obtain four specimens of “earthen crocodiles,” two of which were almost three meters long.

Photo 3.

In 1912, Peter Owen published an article in the Bulletin of the Botanical Garden about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming a previously unknown spider animal Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). It later turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Rytya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. A careful study of the archives of the Sultanate showed that this animal was mentioned in the archives dating back to 1840.

The First World War forced a halt to research, and only 12 years later did interest in the Komodo dragon resume. Now the main researchers of the giant reptile are US zoologists. In English this reptile became known as komodo dragon(comodo dragon). The expedition of Douglas Barden managed to catch a living specimen for the first time in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed specimens to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Photo 4.

Indonesian Komodo National Park, protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs covering an area of ​​more than 170 thousand hectares.
The islands of Komodo and Rinca are the largest in the reserve. Of course, the main celebrity of the park is the Komodo dragon. However, many tourists come here to see the unique terrestrial and underwater flora and fauna of Komodo. There are about 100 species of fish here. There are about 260 species of reef corals and 70 species of sponges in the sea.
The national park is also home to animals such as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, and cynomolgus macaque.

Photo 5.

It was Barden who established the true size of these animals and refuted the myth of seven-meter giants. It turned out that males rarely exceed a length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is no more than two meters.

Many years of research have made it possible to thoroughly study the habits and lifestyle of giant reptiles. It turned out that Komodo dragons, like other cold-blooded animals, are active only from 6 to 10 am and from 3 to 5 pm. They prefer dry, well-sunny areas, and are usually associated with arid plains, savannas and dry tropical forests.

Photo 6.

In the hot season (May - October) they often stick to dry river beds with jungle-covered banks. Young animals can climb well and spend a lot of time in trees, where they find food, and in addition, they hide from their adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on their smaller relatives. As shelter from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Tree hollows often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

Komodo dragons, despite their size and external clumsiness, are good runners. Over short distances, reptiles can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers, and over long distances their speed is 10 km/h. To reach food at a height (for example, on a tree), monitor lizards can stand on their hind legs, using their tail as a support. Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell. These reptiles are able to smell carrion or blood at a distance of even 11 kilometers.

Photo 7.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. On Komodo and Rinca there are approximately 1000 each, and on the smallest islands of the group, Gili Motang and Nusa Koda, there are only 100 individuals.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually becoming smaller. They say that the decline in the number of wild ungulates on the islands due to poaching is to blame, so monitor lizards are forced to switch to smaller food.

Photo 8.

Of the modern species, only the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor attack prey significantly larger than themselves. The crocodile monitor's teeth are very long and almost straight. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful bird feeding (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, making it easier for them to dismember prey in the tree where they spend most of their lives.

Venomtooths are poisonous lizards. Today there are two known types of them - the gila monster and the escorpion. They live primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico in rocky foothills, semi-deserts and deserts. Toothworts are most active in the spring, when their favorite food, bird eggs, appears. They also feed on insects, small lizards and snakes. The poison is produced by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands and travels through the ducts to the teeth of the lower jaw. When biting, the teeth of the poisonous teeth - long and curved back - enter the body of the victim almost half a centimeter.

Photo 9.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They eat practically everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-washed fish, rodents. And although monitor lizards are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and often large animals become their prey: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and feral goats, and even the largest ungulates of these islands - Asian water buffalos.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but more often hide it and grab it when it approaches at close range.

Photo 10.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very intelligent tactics. Adult monitor lizards, emerging from the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, stopping from time to time and crouching to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. They can knock down wild boars and deer with a blow of their tail, but more often they use their teeth - inflicting a single bite on the animal’s leg. This is where success lies. After all, now the “biological weapon” of the Komodo dragon has been launched.

Photo 11.

It has long been believed that the prey is ultimately killed by pathogens found in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the “deadly cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria and viruses found in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

Research led by Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland (Australia) has shown that in terms of the number and types of bacteria typically found in the mouth of the Komodo dragon, it is not fundamentally different from other carnivores.

Moreover, as Fry states, the Komodo dragon is a very clean animal.

Komodo dragons, which inhabit the islands of Indonesia, are the largest predators on these islands. They hunt pigs, deer and Asian buffalo. 75% of pigs and deer die from the bite of a monitor lizard within 30 minutes from loss of blood, another 15% - after 3-4 hours from the poison secreted by its salivary glands.

A larger animal, a buffalo, when attacked by a monitor lizard, always, despite deep wounds, leaves the predator alive. Following his instinct, the bitten buffalo usually seeks refuge in a warm pond, the water of which is teeming with anaerobic bacteria, and eventually succumbs to infection that penetrates into its legs through the wounds.

Pathogenic bacteria found in the oral cavity of the Komodo dragon in previous studies, according to Fry, are traces of infections entering its body from contaminated drinking water. The amount of these bacteria is not enough to cause the death of a buffalo from a bite.

The Komodo dragon has two venom glands in its lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. When these proteins enter the victim's body, they prevent blood clotting, lower blood pressure, promote muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. The whole thing leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo dragons is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located on the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in the poisonous teeth, like in snakes.

Photo 12.

In the oral cavity, poison and saliva mix with decaying food debris, forming a mixture in which many different deadly bacteria multiply. But this is not what surprised scientists, but the poison delivery system. It turned out to be the most complex of all similar systems in reptiles. Instead of injecting it with one blow with its teeth, like poisonous snakes, monitor lizards have to literally rub it into the wound of the victim, making jerks with their jaws. This evolutionary invention has helped giant monitor lizards survive for thousands of years.

Photo 14.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow the heels of the victim all the time. The wound does not heal, the animal becomes weaker every day. After two weeks, even such a large animal as a buffalo has no strength left, its legs give way and it falls. It's time for a feast for the monitor lizard. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at him. His relatives come running to the smell of blood. In feeding areas, fights often occur between males of equal value. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

For humans, a huge head covered like a shell, with unkind, unblinking eyes, a toothy gaping mouth, from which protrudes a forked tongue, constantly in motion, a lumpy and folded body of a dark brown color on strong splayed paws with long claws and a massive tail. is the living embodiment of the image of extinct monsters of distant eras. One can only be amazed how such creatures could survive today practically unchanged.

Photo 15.

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago, the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption fits well with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg was found on this continent. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin as “great ancient tramp”, preferred, like the Komodo dragon, to settle in grassy savannas and sparse forests, where he hunted mammals, including very large ones, such as diprodonts, various reptiles and birds. These were the largest poisonous creatures that ever existed on Earth.

Fortunately, these animals became extinct, but their place was taken by the Komodo dragon, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to the islands forgotten by time to see the last representatives of the ancient world in natural conditions.

Photo 16.

Indonesia has 17,504 islands, although these numbers are not definitive. The Indonesian government has set itself the difficult task of conducting a complete audit of all Indonesian islands without exception. And who knows, maybe at the end of it, animals unknown to people will still be discovered, perhaps not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!

Komodo Island is located in the very center of the Indonesian archipelago. This is the habitat of the unique and largest lizards in the world - Komodo dragons.

We are in Indonesia. Komodo Island is relatively small, its area is about 390 sq. km. Almost its entire territory is occupied by Komodo National Park, created in 1980 to protect Komodo dragons. The coastline seems to be indented with rocky capes, clearly of volcanic origin:

The nature here is unique. Almost the entire territory is covered by arid savannah.

You can get here from the island of Bali using the following tourist equipment:

In general, Komodo is an island often visited by cruise ships from all over the world:

You need to come here because of this unique miracle of nature - the Komodo dragon! This terrifying, deadly monitor lizard lives on the island. This is his home.

So, Komodo dragons are giant lizards, reaching a length of 3 meters and weighing up to 150 kg! The natural lifespan of monitor lizards in the wild is probably around 50 years.

Handsome. Komodo dragons feed on a wide variety of animals. Their victims include fish, sea turtles, wild boars, buffalos, deer and reptiles. Also, repeated cases of attacks on people have been recorded.

At first glance, these lizards seem very clumsy and unhurried. However, when running over short distances, the monitor lizard can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h. They hunt relatively large prey from ambush, sometimes knocking the victim down with blows of his powerful tail, often breaking its legs in the process.

Monitor lizards are at the top of the island's food chain. And this is their prey - a deer:

Reptiles do not have poisonous teeth, but their bite is most often fatal. Having tracked a deer, wild boar or other large prey in the bushes, the monitor lizard attacks and tries to inflict a laceration on the animal, into which many bacteria from the oral cavity are introduced. As a result of such an attack, the victim experiences blood poisoning, the animal gradually weakens and dies after some time. The dragons of Komodo Island can only follow the victim and wait for her to die.

Tourists and monitor lizards are not separated by a fence with barbed wire, or any ditch, or anything to inspire confidence in safety. Groups of tourists are usually accompanied by rangers armed with long poles with forked ends to defend against possible dragon attacks.

As shelters, monitor lizards use holes 1-5 meters long, which they dig with their powerful paws and claws.

Komodo dragons are less dangerous to people than crocodiles or sharks. However, the number of deaths due to late medical care after bites (and, as a result, blood poisoning) reaches 99%!

To reach food at a height, the monitor lizard can stand on its hind legs, using its tail as a support. Komodo dragons are good climbers and spend a lot of time in trees.

About 1,700 monitor lizards live on Komodo Island. On the neighboring island of Rinca there are about 1,200 individuals. According to scientists, Australia should be considered the homeland of Komodo dragons.

Cannibalism is common among Komodo dragons: adult lizards often eat smaller individuals. Therefore, as soon as the cubs are born, they immediately instinctively climb a tree, looking for shelter there.