Photo by Greg Westfall
It may not be able to breathe fire, but in every other respect the komodo dragon lives up to its fearsome name. Growing up to 10 feet long and tipping the scales at up to 300 pounds, the komodo dragon lives in splendid isolation on a handful of Indonesian islands. It will eat just about anything that moves; the bigger the better (humans included). Instead of chasing prey, the dragon relies on long claws, serrated teeth, and the element of surprise in the hunt for its next meal. If the initial attack fails, the dragon falls back on its ultra-nasty secret weapon: saliva. That’s right, the dragon’s bacteria-ridden spittle seals the doom of any creature unlucky enough to tangle with it. Despite its success as a predator, the komodo dragon hasn’t been able to withstand the pressures of poaching and human encroachment on its habitat and is now endangered. Here’s a National Geographic
video about this awesome lizard.
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