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- Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon
Squamata Varanidae
Varanus Komodoensis
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The Komodo Dragon looks like a dinosaur. The Komodo Dragon never had enemies before, but people are hunting them for their skin, and their numbers are becoming smaller.
Total length: 2-3m
(Source: Shinsekai Zetsumetsukiki Doubutsu Zukan* (Library Edition) Gakken) (*Illustrated Encyclopedia of New World Endangered Animals)
They live on the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia.
Komodo Dragons eat deer and pigs. Sometimes they attack horses and water buffalo bigger than them. They can eat up to 80% of their body weight at once.
Animals bitten by Komodo dragons usually get sick and die, even if they are able to escape. There are a lot of theories as to why this happens. Some people think that Komodo dragons produce poison from between their teeth, while others think that it is because there are a lot of germs in their saliva. Scary, huh?
Find out more about the Komodo Dragon!
The last surviving dinosaur?
Komodo Dragons are the heaviest lizards in the world. Their total length is 2-3 meters, as big as a crocodile. They have a funny tongue that zips out of their mouth. Their looks are scary, and many people believed they were surviving dinosaurs.
No match for people with weapons...
On the islands where they live, Komodo Dragons had no enemies stronger than themselves. But since people started hunting them for their skin, their numbers have become smaller. People use lizard skins to make bags or wallets; in the same way as alligator bags or wallets are made. Sunda Islands are now a wildlife preserve to save the Komodo Dragon.
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