Komodo Dragons facts

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A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process of swallowing a carcass by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully, the tree is knocked down.

how komodo dragons hunt?

Female Komodo Dragons can impregnate themselves without a male through a process called parthenogenesis. By forcing duplication of sex chromosomes they can give birth to male Komodo Dragons and keep their species alive.

What komodo dragons look like?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what do komodo dragons eat. Here are 50 of the best facts about Komodo Dragons I managed to collect.

what komodo dragons eat?

Komodo dragons can give virgin births, but it's not a genetic clone of the mother.
Komodo dragons are actually venomous rather than, as long thought, poisoning their victims with the bacteria in their saliva. Turns out, according to one researcher, "that whole bacteria stuff has been a scientific fairy tale". The venom works slowly and makes the victim too weak to fight.
Komodo dragons can reproduce completely asexually, through a process called parthenogenesis. Furthermore, offspring reproduced by this process can only be male. This means that a single female dragon can create an entirely new colony without a mate.
Komodo Dragons actually do have venom-producing glands and are "remarkably clean" animals, debunking the 30 year assumption that they used harmful bacteria from rotting flesh.
By the time komodo dragons reach adulthood, they wear a suit of armor made of tiny bones. These bones cover the dragons from head to tail, creating a “chain mail” that protects the giant predators.
Despite widespread media reporting and TIL posts, the most recent scientific evidence suggests Komodo Dragons DO NOT in fact possess or use venom, nor bacterial infection, to overcome and bring down prey. They kill through ambush attacks and laceration, resulting in trauma and heavy blood loss.
A Komodo Dragon can swallow live prey as large as a goat and sometimes speeds up the swallowing process by ramming the carcass into a tree occasionally with enough force to knock the tree over.
A man was told to take off his white shoes before entering a Komodo Dragon enclosure so that they weren’t mistaken for mice. The Dragon bit the shoeless man’s foot and the man lost a toe
Female Komodo dragons can impregnate themselves without a male through a process called "parthenogenesis." They can force the duplication of sex chromosomes and give birth to male Komodo dragons; keeping the species alive.
Komodo dragons do not kill with bacteria-loaded saliva. They have venom glands in their lower jaw that they use to kill their prey.

komodo dragons facts — What do komodo dragons look like?

Why komodo dragons are endangered?

You can easily fact check why komodo dragons haven't conquered the world by examining the linked well-known sources.

They are carnivores (meat-eaters) who like to eat pigs, deer, snakes, fish and water buffalos. Adult komodo dragons are cannibals (eat their own species) and 10% of their diet is made of newly hatched Komodo dragons.

Komodo dragons have reddish saliva that contains 50 different types of bacteria. Only one bite induces blood poisoning of their prey.

Komodo dragons are evidence of the "island rule", a biological phenomenon which posits that when animals colonize an island, larger species tend to evolve smaller bodies & smaller species tend to evolve larger bodies.

Adult dragons have gray, brown or reddish color of their skin. Young animals have green body covered with black and yellow stripes.

When komodo dragons attack?

Even without partners, female Komodo dragon can produce eggs. This type of reproduction is called asexual reproduction.

How komodo dragons kill their prey?

Komodo dragons often fight with other dragons. They bite each other during the fight, but unlike other animals, they are immune to bacteria from their saliva.

Komodo dragons can eat animals as big as deer, pigs, large water buffalo and humans. Their saliva also contains 50 strains of bacteria that quickly kills from a single bite.

Komodo dragons can smell blood and death from nearly 6 miles away

Before 1912, the Komodo Dragon was once thought to be a mythical creature and was called the giant monitor.

When were komodo dragons discovered?

During reproductive season, female lays 15-30 eggs in the hole in the ground. Their eggs look like balloons filled with water. Baby lizards use "egg tooth" to crack the shell from the inside. They will live on the trees from the moment they are born because adult Komodo dragons can"t climb (and eat them).

Monitor lizard can reach 4.7 to 122 inches in length and 2.2 to 360 pounds of weight, depending on the species. Komodo dragon is the largest species of monitor lizard.

The Dutch sailors originally described the dragons as being seven meters long, and able to breathe fire. After an expedition by a Dutch official, the results were published in 1912. The Komodo dragon did not breathe fire and was in fact, a monitor lizard.

Deer are a favorite food of the Komodo dragon and in an effort to increase their population the government began prohibiting deer hunting by the islanders.

They usually hunt during the day because they don"t see well during the night. Other than that, Komodo has poor sense of hearing.

How komodo dragons kill?

The Komodo dragons that inhabit this island and only a few others nearby are the largest lizards on earth.

There are some real dragons in existence including the Komodo dragon, and the thorny devil lizard.

Although there were stories of the Komodo dragon for many years, nobody went to Komodo Island to check until the early 1910s.

They can eat prey that weighs 80% of their own weight. Unlike other animals, they will eat bones and hooves.

Female komodo dragons are capable of "virgin births"; i.e without any male contact.

In the mid-1900s, fossils were found in Australia very similar to Komodo dragons. These fossils dated back 30 to 60 million years ago.

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