The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the world's largest lizard species and is endemic to the Indonesian. The maximum length of 3 meters, and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms. Komodo dragons can be found in Komodo National Park, which covers three major islands, namely Komodo, Rinca, and Padar. The islands are volcanic in origin, rugged and hilly, and covered with both forest and savanna grassland.
The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places and typically lives in dry, open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. 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 can swim, They can swim between the five islands with ease.
As with many other reptiles, the Komodo dragon primarily relies on its tongue to detect, taste, and smell stimuli, rather than using the nostrils. With the help of a favorable wind and its habit of swinging its head from side to side as it walks, a Komodo dragon may be able to detect carrion from 4-9.5 km away.
These giant lizards are apex predators and ruthless carnivores, It has about 60 curved, serrated teeth that can be up to 2.5 cm in length, and a yellow, forked tongue. Its skin is reinforced by armored scales bearing tiny bones called osteoderms that make it function like a chain-mail. The heavy armor makes the lizard nearly untouchable. they will eat any meat, from large deer to even humans and water buffalo. The combination of venom and multiple lacerations from the lizards' sharp, serrated teeth is what makes the dragons so deadly. If the prey escapes, the lizard will simply follow it at a leisurely pace. That’s because the dragon’s bite contains deadly bacteria that will eventually kill its intended meal. Soon, other Komodo dragons will join in on the feast, fighting over the best pieces. Komodo dragons eat extremely fast. They have been seen consuming 5.5 pounds of meat in 1 minute. Because of their slow metabolism, large dragons can survive on as few as 12 meals a year.
Once a year, when they’re ready to mate, female Komodo dragons give off a scent in their feces for males to follow. When a male dragon locates a female, he scratches her back and licks her body. If she licks him back, they mate. Males also sometimes wrestle with one another to earn mating rights.
When there aren’t any males around, female Komodo dragons have other means of reproducing: As they have both male and female sex chromosomes, female dragons can reproduce asexually in a process called parthenogenesis. Due to the availability of prey and the physical condition of the female. Female dragons do not breed every year.
Females often nest in the same nest location each time. To reduce the risk of predators such as snakes or boars preying on the eggs. Female Komodo dragons dig several additional holes near their real nest in an attempt to camouflage it.
The female lays between 15 and 30 eggs and guards her nest and eggs for the first few months, and then leaves the nest, returning nine months later when the eggs are about to hatch. Female Komodos only care about their eggs, not the juveniles. 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 and stay in the trees until they reach 3 to 5 years of age. 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 mouths, eggs, grasshoppers, beetles, and geckos. To avoid being eaten by the adults, the young Komodos are also known to roll in fecal matter thereby picking up odor that the adults are likely to avoid. When they are about 4 years old and 4 feet long, the Komodo dragons are large enough to try life on the ground. Komodo dragons take approximately 8 to 9 years to mature and may live for up to 30 years.
They do not thrive in captivity where they become susceptible to numerous infections. Thus, it is important to keep Komodo dragon habitats safe and protect the species against other threats.
Volcanic activity, earthquakes, loss of habitat, fire, tourism, loss of prey due to poaching, and illegal poaching of the dragons themselves have all contributed to the vulnerable status of the Komodo dragon. A major future threat to the species is climate change via both aridification and sea-level rise, which can affect the low-lying habitats and valleys that the Komodo dragon depends on, as Komodo dragons do not range into the higher-altitude regions of the islands they inhabit.
The Komodo dragon is classified by the IUCN as Endangered and is listed on the IUCN Red List. They are protected under Indonesian law, and Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to aid protection efforts.
#WildLife #KomodoIslands #VenomousLizard
29 ноя 2021
