Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis)
There has been some debate as to whether Komodo dragons are actual dragons, and here I wish to propose a definitive answer, based on our highly objective established definition of what a dragon is.
If you recall our lesson from Dragonology 101, you will remember that a dragon usually has the following defining qualities:
1. large lizard or serpent with
2. 4 legs, scales, a long tail, and large talons, which
3. breathes fire and
4. can fly.
The Komodo dragon, though it is a large lizard (it can grow up to 10 ft. in length and weigh from 175 to 310 lbs), and does indeed have 4 legs, scales, a long tail, and large talons, it has not been known to breathe fire or fly. As to whether it sleeps or has ever slept on a pile of treasure is uncertain.
Therefore, at least provisionally, we must conclude that the Komodo is not a dragon in the truest sense. However, besides real dragons, the Komodo is the largest lizard in the world. Discovered by science and the western world in the early 1900s, the Komodo Dragon is a member of the monitor lizard family, Varanidae. Roughly 6,000 Komodo dragons exist today, and live mainly on a few small islands in Indonesia. They spend most of their days sunbathing, and their nights in shallow burrows.
Komodo dragons mate between the months of May and August, and lay eggs in September. The female komodo dragon lays her eggs in the ground or in hollowed trees. Komodos will protect their eggs, but not their young, and thus younger Komodos have developed the intelligent habit of hiding in trees to avoid being eaten by other predators. A young komodo dragon usually eats insects and smaller reptiles. Komodo Dragons take around five years to grow to 6 feet in length and can live for approximately 30 years.
The Komodo Dragon is a formidable creature that is to be feared and respected when encountered. Its saliva contains over 50 different types of bacteria, which will kill most of the creatures it bites. Also, it can run about 12 miles per hour for short distances (about as fast as an average dog), and will use this skill when it is hunting some unfortunate beast. Komodos are carnivores that can and do eat humans (if provoked). Mature dragons can also eat pigs, goats, deer, and even water buffalo if they're really hungry. They will fight with one another over food, although they are (perhaps for evolutionary reasons) immune to their own bacteria-laden saliva. Komodo dragons are a type of creature that is known to cannibalize its younger specimens. Some mature dragons will occasionally eat younger ones.
It is interesting to note that, while a komodo dragon is eating its prey, it will often avoid eating the intestines, or it will shake them to rid them of fecal matter. Perhaps the dragon does this to preserve the bacterial environment in its mouth, or simply because it does not want to eat the poo of another animal (who would?). At any rate, some smaller komodo dragons have cleverly used this eating preference to their advantage, and will roll in the dung of another animal so as to avoid from being eaten by larger komodos. So, if you are ever being approached by a hungry Komodo dragon, you now know what to do.
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