What Kind Of Animal Is A Komodo Dragon

Common Proper noun :

Komodo dragons

Scientific Name :

Varanus komodoensis

Type :

Reptiles

Nutrition :

Carnivore

Average Life Span In The Wild :

Up to 30 years

Size :

10 anxiety

Weight :

330 pounds

IUCN Ruby List Status :

Endangered

Current Population Trend :

Unknown

What is the Komodo dragon?

Reaching upwardly to 10 anxiety in length and more than than 300 pounds, Komodo dragons are the heaviest lizards on Earth. They accept long, flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly pare, bowed legs, and huge, muscular tails.

Habitat

Komodo dragons take thrived in the harsh climate of Republic of indonesia's Bottom Sunda Islands for millions of years. They prefer the islands' tropical forests but can be found across the islands. Though these athletic reptiles can walk upward to vii miles per day, they prefer to stay close to home—rarely venturing far from the valleys in which they hatched.

Reproduction

One time a yr, when they're ready to mate, female Komodo dragons give off a smell in their feces for males to follow. When a male dragon locates a female, he scratches her back and llicks her body. If she licks him dorsum, they mate. Males likewise sometimes wrestle one another to earn mating rights. Pregnant females and so lay about 30 eggs, which they bury in the world until they hatch eight months later.

When there aren't whatever males around, female Komodo dragons have other means of reproducing: Every bit they have both male and female sex chromosomes, female dragons tin can reproduce asexually in a process called parthenogenesis.

Diet

As the dominant predators on the handful of islands they inhabit, Komodo dragons volition eat almost anything, including carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons, and even large water buffalo. When hunting, Komodo dragons rely on camouflage and patience, lying in look for passing prey. When a victim ambles by, the dragon springs, using its sharp claws, and serrated, shark-like teeth to eviscerate its prey.

Feeding

The Komodo dragon has venom glands loaded with toxins that lower blood pressure level, cause massive bleeding, forestall clotting, and induce daze. Dragons bite downward with serrated teeth and pull back with powerful cervix muscles, resulting in huge gaping wounds. The venom then quickens the loss of blood and sends the prey into shock.

Animals that escape the jaws of a Komodo will only experience lucky briefly. Dragons tin can calmly follow an escapee for miles as the venom takes upshot, using their peachy sense of smell to home in on the corpse. A dragon can consume a whopping 80 percent of its body weight in a single feeding.

Threats to survival

While asexual reproduction does permit female Komodo dragons to replenish their population—an evolutionary advantage—it has a significant drawback: This reproduction process only results in sons. The famine of other females within a population has led to evidence of inbreeding. The reptile'southward reluctance to devious far from home exacerbates the issue as the species' population declines and fragments.

Humans accept likewise posed a threat to the Komodo dragon'due south survival. People have burned the Komodo dragon'southward habitat to clear it for other uses, while poachers target this reptile and its casualty. Tourists, besides, offer food handouts and disrupt the dragons' mating procedure—which led the government of Republic of indonesia to consider a temporary closure of Komodo Island, 1 of several on which they're found, to tourism. But tourists are also important to conservation efforts, as the economic boost they provide incentives to locals to assistance protect the Komodo dragon.

Conservation

In 1980, Indonesia established Komodo National Park to protect the Komodo dragon and its habitat. This 700-square-mile refuge is likewise habitation to species such as the orange-footed scrub fowl and Timor deer, as well as a rich marine environment supporting whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, corals, sponges, manta rays, and more than than a thousand species of fish. At present a UNESCO Earth Heritage site, Komodo National Park has established patrols to forestall poaching. It also works with local communities to build awareness of the species and the importance of protecting it.

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/komodo-dragon

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