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Indonesia
Komodo Dragons Of Indonesia
The Varanus Komodoensis or Komodo Dragon is the world's largest living lizard
which can only be found in the Komodo National
Park in Indonesia.
The locals call the dragons buaja darat meaning land crocodile.
The Komodo Dragon is made famous by tales of the dragons devouring
children and missing tourists in their habitat. Indeed these tales could be
true since the lizards are carnivorous, have ravenous appetites and are known
to have attacked human beings on a number of occasions. The dragons regularly
prey on animals as large as pigs, deers and sometimes even adult water
buffalos. The dragons will eat anything they can overpower including other
dragons.
The Komodo Dragons can grow to a length of more than 3 meters
(10 ft) and weigh up to 100 kg (220 pounds) and have a very keen sense of
smell to track and hunt down its preys. Despite its massive size, the dragons
can be very fast and agile and they can climb trees and are also excellent
swimmers.
All these capabilities mean that their preys can
hardly escape being the dragon's dinner. So tourists are advised to stay a
safe distance from the dragons since escaping from the dragons by climbing
trees or jumping into water is futile.
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The teeth of the lizards are laterally compressed with serrated edges
just like those of sharks. Each of these reptiles have about 60 teeth which
can be replaced frequently. The teeth are positioned in such a way as to take
out chunks flesh from its prey. On top of that, their mouths are full of
bacteria and even if their victim survives an attack, it will still die of
bacteria infection.
Komodo Dragon Habitat
The Komodo Dragons can be found in lesser Sunda Islands of Rinca, Komodo,
Flores, Gili and Montang in the Komodo National Park in Indonesia and nowhere
else in the world. Although the main draw for tourists visiting the Komodo
National Park is to watch the Komodo Dragons, the park is also a favorite
destination of scuba divers for its many excellent dive sites.
The habitats of the Komodo dragons is extremely harsh as these are arid
volcanic islands with steep slopes and little rainfall and therefore water
scarcity. The dragons are generally solitary animals except during the
breeding season. The males will defend a territory and patrol up to 2 km (1.2
miles) everyday.
The dragons maintain burrows within their own territories but sometimes
the males will swim from island to island find new hunting grounds. The life
expectancy of a Komodo Dragon is generally between 20 to 40 years and they are
an endangered species. It is estimated that there are fewer than 5,000 of them
still alive.
The biggest threats to these animals are volcanic activities as these
activities may destroy their habitats as well as their prey base. Poaching is
another threat and tourism may also have an effect on their continued
survival. – Komodo Dragons In Indonesia was posted on
26 Nov 2007.
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