The Komodo dragon is the worlds largest living reptile. It belongs to the family of monitor lizards. Its only found mainly on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rintja, Padar, and Flores. There are only about 1,000 to 5,000 monitor lizards living now.
These lizards can grow up to 3 meters or even more, they weigh up to 126kg. These reptiles are fast at running and climbing. They eat things like small mammals, rotting meat, deer, and wild boars.
It was in 1910 when a pilot landed on the island of Komodo in Indonesia, and discovered the dragon was a 10-foot-long lizard with forked tongue. In fact, the Komodo dragon is not a dragon. It does not breathe out fire and it is far from powerful.
The reason why they are endangered is because the hunters were after the beautiful scaly skin or captured the giant lizard for zoos. It survived, but in much smaller numbers. There are only about 7200 Komodo dragons left on Komodo, nearby Flores, and 4 other smaller islands.
When the Komodo dragon hunts, it hides in high grass and waits for a deer, goat, or a wild boar. The lizard grabs the animal and when the prey is weak, the lizard throws it down and then kills the animal by biting it until it dies. But the Komodo dragon likes to hunt sick or injured animals because they are easier to catch.
The dragon can eat animals that are about 60-90 pounds in about 15 minutes. The Komodo dragon is a good swimmer; it loves water holes and the sea. Usually its den is found near the water where a big hole is dug in the ground.
