Huge monitor lizards attack people. Dragons of Komodo Island - how hunting strategy helps you win a fight to the death

Komodo dragon (giant Indonesian monitor, Komodo dragon) ( Varanus komodoensis) is the largest lizard in the world. The predatory reptile belongs to the order Squamate, superfamily Varanidae, family of monitor lizards, genus of monitor lizards. The Komodo dragon, also called the “dragon of Komodo Island,” got its name from one of its habitats.

Seasoned and strong monitor lizards easily cope with more impressive prey: wild boars, deer, buffalos, horses and mustangs, goats. Often, the teeth of adult Komodo dragons fall into the teeth of livestock, cats and dogs that come to water bodies to drink or accidentally meet on the path of this dangerous lizard.

The Komodo monitor lizard is also dangerous for humans; there are known cases of these predators attacking people. If there is not enough food, large monitor lizards can attack smaller relatives. When eating food, the Komodo dragon can swallow very large pieces due to the movable joint of the lower jaw bones and a capacious stomach, which tends to stretch.

Komodo dragon hunting

The hunting principle of the Komodo dragon is quite cruel. Sometimes a large predatory lizard attacks its prey from ambush, suddenly knocking down its “future dinner” with a powerful and sharp blow of its tail. Moreover, the force of the impact is so great that potential prey often suffers broken legs. 12 out of 17 deer die on the spot when fighting with a lizard. However, sometimes the victim manages to escape, although she may suffer severe injuries in the form of torn tendons or lacerations in the abdomen or neck, which leads to inevitable death. The venom of the monitor lizard and the bacteria contained in the reptile's saliva weaken the victim. In large prey, such as buffalo, death can occur only 3 weeks after a fight with a monitor lizard. Some sources indicate that the giant Komodo dragon will chase its prey by smell and traces of blood until it is completely exhausted. Some animals manage to escape and heal their wounds, other animals fall into the clutches of predators, and others die from wounds inflicted by the monitor lizard. An excellent sense of smell allows the Komodo dragon to smell food and the smell of blood at a distance of up to 9.5 km. And when the victim does die, monitor lizards come running to the smell of carrion to eat the dead animal.

Komodo dragon venom

Previously, it was believed that the saliva of the Komodo dragon contains only a harmful “cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria, to which the predatory lizard is immune. However, relatively recently, scientists have determined that the monitor lizard has a pair of poisonous glands located on the lower jaw and which produce special toxic proteins that cause decreased blood clotting, hypothermia, paralysis, low blood pressure and loss of consciousness in the bitten victim. The glands have a primitive structure: they do not have canals in the teeth, like, for example, in snakes, but open at the base of the teeth with ducts. Thus, the bite of the Komodo dragon is poisonous.

Enemies of the Komodo dragon in nature

In its natural habitat, the Komodo dragon, which has reached adulthood, has almost no enemies. The lizard can only be threatened by larger relatives, humans or a saltwater crocodile. Although sometimes the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, when resisting, can be injured by its large prey - buffaloes and wild boars. Adolescent monitor lizards are often hunted by civets, snakes and birds of prey.

How does the Komodo dragon reproduce?

Komodo dragons reach sexual maturity at 5 and sometimes 10 years of age. The mating season of these giant lizards is usually in July. Fights begin to occur between the males of the population for females, whose numbers are sometimes much smaller than the number of males. Opponents stand on their hind legs, clasping each other with their front paws and trying to knock the competitor to the ground. Naturally, in such tournaments, the most seasoned and largest males win, while young animals or rather old individuals are forced to retreat.

When mating, the male Komodo dragon shows specific “tenderness”: he rubs his lower jaw against the neck of his partner, scratches her back and tail with his claws, while twitching his head. After the mating process is completed, the female begins to look for a place where she will lay eggs in the future. Usually the female digs several holes and hides the eggs in one of them. Others serve to distract the attention of predatory animals eating the eggs. The average number of eggs in a clutch is 20-30. The largest Komodo dragon eggs reach a length of 10 centimeters and, with a diameter of 6 cm, can weigh about 200 grams.

Taken from the site: www.ballenatales.com

In the absence of a male during the rut, female Komodo dragons lay unfertilized eggs, which will eventually produce exclusively male cubs. This unique method of reproduction is called parthenogenesis.

After 8-8.5 months, during which the mother zealously protects the future offspring, the Komodo dragon cubs hatch. This usually happens in April-May. The length of newborn lizards does not exceed 27-30 cm, but monitor lizards grow very quickly, and by three months their size almost doubles. Shy in contrast to adults, young Komodo dragons prefer to spend their first time in trees, hiding in the branches in case of any danger. There they are inaccessible to many predators and to their seasoned relatives, because when there is a lack of food, Komodo dragons practice cannibalism.

Komodo dragon and man

Unfortunately, due to human activities leading to the deterioration of the living conditions of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard in the world is now endangered, and its population is noticeably declining. That is why the Komodo dragon is listed in the IUCN Red List. In 1980 of the twentieth century, Komodo National Park was created in Indonesia, primarily designed to protect the Komodo “dragons”. Since 1991, the park has been a biosphere reserve and is officially considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Komodo dragon is a potentially dangerous predator for humans, although this lizard usually does not pose a direct danger to a strong adult. However, there have been recorded cases of Komodo dragon attacks on people, when the animal mistook a person for prey, smelling a certain smell and associating it with its specific sensations. The bite of a Komodo dragon is not only painful and very traumatic, but also dangerous due to the poison, pathological bacteria and toxins present in its saliva. Without prompt medical attention, a bite leads to blood poisoning and can cause death.

The largest monitor lizard in the world can quite easily cope with a child under 10 years of age, causing serious injury and sometimes even killing him (similar cases have been documented on the territory of the Indonesian islands). Komodo dragons become especially aggressive in dry and hungry years: it is then that the giant lizards dare to get as close as possible to a person’s home, where they are attracted mainly by the smell of food waste.

There are known cases when, due to lack of food, Komodo dragons dug up shallow burials of people, taking out the bodies of the dead from the graves. This unpleasant fact forced the aborigines of the Lesser Sunda Islands to bury their dead under heavy slabs of concrete. Having a keen sense of smell, Komodo dragons are able to smell blood from a great distance. For example, attacks by these large reptiles on tourist groups were recorded, the members of which had very small bleeding scratches, or the group included women with an active phase of the menstrual cycle. Today, all tourists visiting the islands of Indonesia, where Komodo dragons live, are necessarily accompanied by experienced rangers armed with special poles for defense against predatory lizards. Killing Komodo dragons is strictly prohibited by law, so particularly aggressive individuals are caught and moved to less populated areas of the islands.

• Komodo dragons are capable of completely emptying a stomach full of food if they need to reduce their weight to increase mobility in case of danger.
• These predatory lizards easily cope with prey that is 8-10 times their weight.
• During the meal, the largest monitor lizard in the world eats not only the meat of the caught victim, but also does not disdain bones, hooves and skin.
• Among local aborigines, the poisonous Komodo dragon is called "ora" or "buaya darat", which translates as "land crocodile".

Indonesian Komodo island interesting not only for its nature, but also for its animals: among the tropical jungles of this island live real “ dragons»…

Such " the Dragon"reaches a length of 4-5 meters, its weight ranges from 150 to 200 kilograms. These are the largest individuals. The Indonesians themselves call the “dragon” land crocodile».

Komodo dragon is a diurnal animal, it does not hunt at night. The monitor lizard is omnivorous, it can easily eat a gecko, bird eggs, a snake, or catch a gaping bird. Local residents say that the monitor lizard drags sheep and attacks buffalo and wild pigs. There are known cases when komodo dragon attacked a victim weighing up to 750 kilograms. In order to eat such a huge animal, the “dragon” would bite through the tendons, thereby immobilizing the victim, and then shred the unfortunate creature with its iron jaws. Once a monitor lizard swallowed a furiously squealing dog...


Here on Komodo island, nature dictates its own rules, dividing the year into dry and wet seasons. In the dry season, the monitor lizard has to adhere to “fasting,” but in the rainy season, the “dragon” does not deny itself anything. Komodo dragon does not tolerate heat well, his body does not have sweat glands. And if the animal's temperature exceeds 42.7 degrees Celsius, the monitor lizard will die from heatstroke.


Long tongue endowed with komodo dragon- This is a very important olfactory organ, like our nose. By sticking out its tongue, the monitor lizard catches odors. The tactility of the monitor lizard's tongue is not inferior to the sensitivity of smell in dogs. A hungry “dragon” is able to track down its prey using a single trace left by the animal a few hours ago.

Juveniles komodo dragon painted in dark gray colors. There are orange-red ring stripes throughout the animal's body. With age, the color of the monitor lizard changes, “ the Dragon» acquires an even dark color.

Young monitor lizards, up to a year old, small: their length reaches one meter. By the end of the first year of life, the monitor lizard already begins to hunt. Kids train on chickens, rodents, frogs, grasshoppers, crabs and the most harmless - snails. The matured “dragon” begins to hunt larger prey: goats, horses, cows, and sometimes people. The monitor lizard gets close to its victim and attacks with lightning speed. After which he throws the animal to the ground and tries to stun it as quickly as possible. If it attacks a person, the monitor lizard first bites off the legs, then tears the body into pieces.

Adults komodo dragon They eat their prey in exactly the same way - by spreading the victim into pieces. After the monitor lizard's prey is killed, the "dragon" rips open the belly and eats the animal's entrails within twenty-five minutes. The monitor lizard eats meat in large pieces, swallowing it along with the bones. To quickly pass food, the monitor lizard constantly throws its head up.

Local residents tell how one day, while eating a deer, a monitor lizard pushed the animal's leg down its throat until it felt like it was stuck. Then the animal made a sound similar to a rumble and began to frantically wave its head, falling on its front paws. Varan fought until the paw flew out of his mouth.


While eating an animal " the Dragon"stands on four outstretched legs. In the process of eating, you can see how the monitor lizard’s belly fills and stretches all the way to the ground. Having eaten, the monitor lizard goes into the shade of trees to digest food in peace and quiet. If something remains of the victim, young monitor lizards flock to the carcass. During the hungry dry season, lizards feed on their own fat. Average life expectancy komodo dragon is 40 years old.

Komodo dragons have long ceased to be a curiosity... But one unresolved question remains: how did such interesting animals get to Komodo Island in our time?

The appearance of a huge lizard is shrouded in mystery. There is a version that the Komodo dragon is the progenitor of the modern crocodile. One thing is clear: the monitor lizard living on Komodo Island is the largest lizard in the world. Paleontologists put forward the version that about 5 - 10 million years ago the ancestors komodo lizard appeared in Australia. And this assumption is confirmed by one significant fact: the bones of the only known representative of large reptiles were found in Pleistocene and Pliocene deposits Australia.


It is believed that after the volcanic islands formed and cooled, the lizard settled on them, in particular on Komodo island. But here the question arises again: how did the lizard get to the island located 500 miles from Australia? The answer has not yet been found, but to this day fishermen are afraid to go sailing near Komodo Islands. Let's think that the "dragon" was helped by the sea current. If the put forward version is correct, then what did the lizards eat all the time when there were no buffalos, no deer, no horses, no cows and pigs on the island... After all, cattle were brought to the islands by man much later than the voracious lizards appeared on them.
Scientists claim that in those days, giant turtles and elephants lived on the island, the height of which reached one and a half meters. It turns out that the ancestors of modern Komodo lizards hunted elephants, albeit dwarf ones.
One way or another, but Komodo dragons These are “living fossils”.

September 17th, 2015

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the governor of the island of Flores (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbrouck, that giant creatures unknown to science lived on the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda archipelago.

Van Stein's report stated that in the vicinity of Labuan Badi on Flores Island, as well as on nearby Komodo Island, there lives an animal that the local natives call "buaya-darat", which means "earth crocodile".

Of course, you already guessed who we’re talking about now...

According to local residents, some monsters reach seven meters in length, and three- and four-meter buaya darats are common. The curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at the Botanical Park of West Java Province, Peter Owen, immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition in order to obtain a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Hensbroek sent her skin and photographs to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy, since the natives were terrified of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the zoological museum sent an animal capture specialist to Flores. As a result, the staff of the zoological museum managed to obtain four specimens of “earthen crocodiles,” two of which were almost three meters long.

In 1912, Peter Owen published an article in the Bulletin of the Botanical Garden about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming a previously unknown spider animal Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). It later turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Rytya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. A careful study of the archives of the Sultanate showed that this animal was mentioned in the archives dating back to 1840.

The First World War forced a halt to research, and only 12 years later did interest in the Komodo dragon resume. Now the main researchers of the giant reptile are US zoologists. In English this reptile became known as komodo dragon(comodo dragon). The expedition of Douglas Barden managed to catch a living specimen for the first time in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed specimens to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Indonesian Komodo National Park, protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs covering an area of ​​more than 170 thousand hectares.
The islands of Komodo and Rinca are the largest in the reserve. Of course, the main celebrity of the park is the Komodo dragon. However, many tourists come here to see the unique terrestrial and underwater flora and fauna of Komodo. There are about 100 species of fish here. There are about 260 species of reef corals and 70 species of sponges in the sea.
The national park is also home to animals such as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, and cynomolgus macaque.

It was Barden who established the true size of these animals and refuted the myth of seven-meter giants. It turned out that males rarely exceed a length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is no more than two meters.

Many years of research have made it possible to thoroughly study the habits and lifestyle of giant reptiles. It turned out that Komodo dragons, like other cold-blooded animals, are active only from 6 to 10 am and from 3 to 5 pm. They prefer dry, well-sunny areas, and are usually associated with arid plains, savannas and dry tropical forests.

In the hot season (May - October) they often stick to dry river beds with jungle-covered banks. Young animals can climb well and spend a lot of time in trees, where they find food, and in addition, they hide from their adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on their smaller relatives. As shelter from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Tree hollows often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

Komodo dragons, despite their size and external clumsiness, are good runners. Over short distances, reptiles can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers, and over long distances their speed is 10 km/h. To reach food at a height (for example, on a tree), monitor lizards can stand on their hind legs, using their tail as a support. Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell. These reptiles are able to smell carrion or blood at a distance of even 11 kilometers.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. On Komodo and Rinca there are approximately 1000 each, and on the smallest islands of the group, Gili Motang and Nusa Koda, there are only 100 individuals.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually becoming smaller. They say that the decline in the number of wild ungulates on the islands due to poaching is to blame, so monitor lizards are forced to switch to smaller food.

Of the modern species, only the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor attack prey significantly larger than themselves. The crocodile monitor's teeth are very long and almost straight. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful bird feeding (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, making it easier for them to dismember prey in the tree where they spend most of their lives.

Venomtooths are poisonous lizards. Today there are two known types of them - the gila monster and the escorpion. They live primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico in rocky foothills, semi-deserts and deserts. Toothworts are most active in the spring, when their favorite food, bird eggs, appears. They also feed on insects, small lizards and snakes. The poison is produced by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands and travels through the ducts to the teeth of the lower jaw. When biting, the teeth of the poisonous teeth - long and curved back - enter the body of the victim almost half a centimeter.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They eat practically everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-washed fish, rodents. And although monitor lizards are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and often large animals become their prey: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and feral goats, and even the largest ungulates of these islands - Asian water buffalos.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but more often hide it and grab it when it approaches at close range.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very intelligent tactics. Adult monitor lizards, emerging from the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, stopping from time to time and crouching to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. They can knock down wild boars and deer with a blow of their tail, but more often they use their teeth - inflicting a single bite on the animal’s leg. This is where success lies. After all, now the “biological weapon” of the Komodo dragon has been launched.

It has long been believed that the prey is ultimately killed by pathogens found in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the “deadly cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria and viruses found in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

Research led by Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland (Australia) has shown that in terms of the number and types of bacteria typically found in the mouth of the Komodo dragon, it is not fundamentally different from other carnivores.

Moreover, as Fry states, the Komodo dragon is a very clean animal.

Komodo dragons, which inhabit the islands of Indonesia, are the largest predators on these islands. They hunt pigs, deer and Asian buffalo. 75% of pigs and deer die from the bite of a monitor lizard within 30 minutes from loss of blood, another 15% - after 3-4 hours from the poison secreted by its salivary glands.

A larger animal, a buffalo, when attacked by a monitor lizard, always, despite deep wounds, leaves the predator alive. Following his instinct, the bitten buffalo usually seeks refuge in a warm pond, the water of which is teeming with anaerobic bacteria, and eventually succumbs to infection that penetrates into its legs through the wounds.

Pathogenic bacteria found in the oral cavity of the Komodo dragon in previous studies, according to Fry, are traces of infections entering its body from contaminated drinking water. The amount of these bacteria is not enough to cause the death of a buffalo from a bite.

The Komodo dragon has two venom glands in its lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. When these proteins enter the victim's body, they prevent blood clotting, lower blood pressure, promote muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. The whole thing leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo dragons is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located on the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in the poisonous teeth, like in snakes.

In the oral cavity, poison and saliva mix with decaying food debris, forming a mixture in which many different deadly bacteria multiply. But this is not what surprised scientists, but the poison delivery system. It turned out to be the most complex of all similar systems in reptiles. Instead of injecting it with one blow with its teeth, like poisonous snakes, monitor lizards have to literally rub it into the wound of the victim, making jerks with their jaws. This evolutionary invention has helped giant monitor lizards survive for thousands of years.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow the heels of the victim all the time. The wound does not heal, the animal becomes weaker every day. After two weeks, even such a large animal as a buffalo has no strength left, its legs give way and it falls. It's time for a feast for the monitor lizard. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at him. His relatives come running to the smell of blood. In feeding areas, fights often occur between males of equal value. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

For humans, a huge head covered like a shell, with unkind, unblinking eyes, a toothy gaping mouth, from which protrudes a forked tongue, constantly in motion, a lumpy and folded body of a dark brown color on strong splayed paws with long claws and a massive tail. is the living embodiment of the image of extinct monsters of distant eras. One can only be amazed how such creatures could survive today practically unchanged.

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago, the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption fits well with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg was found on this continent. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin as “great ancient tramp”, preferred, like the Komodo dragon, to settle in grassy savannas and sparse forests, where he hunted mammals, including very large ones, such as diprodonts, various reptiles and birds. These were the largest poisonous creatures that ever existed on Earth.

Fortunately, these animals became extinct, but their place was taken by the Komodo dragon, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to the islands forgotten by time to see the last representatives of the ancient world in natural conditions.

Indonesia has 17,504 islands, although these numbers are not definitive. The Indonesian government has set itself the difficult task of conducting a complete audit of all Indonesian islands without exception. And who knows, maybe at the end of it, animals unknown to people will still be discovered, perhaps not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!

Komodo is a small island in Indonesia, famous throughout the world for its giant monitor lizards or dragons. These are the largest lizards on earth, growing up to 3 meters in length and weighing 150 kilograms. Their bite is poisonous and they are dangerous to humans.

Because adult dragons have a very good sense of smell, they can locate the source of the scent of blood up to 5 km away. There have been several documented cases of Komodo dragons attempting to attack tourists with minor open wounds or scratches. A similar danger threatens women who visit the island while on their menstrual cycle...

We approached the island early in the morning. For some reason, I imagined it to be flat and rocky, but it turned out to be green and hilly, similar to Tolkien’s Interland:

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There is no port on the island and we stopped at a roadstead. The pies of the natives immediately approached us:

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Some were simply watching the huge white ship with interest, while others were trying to sell local beads and wood crafts:

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At first, I didn’t understand how they were going to take money from me and give me goods, given that the open deck of the ship is at the height of the 5th floor:

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Everything fell into place when we got into the boats to get to the shore:

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There was no pier where our liner could moor on the Island, and we were taken ashore on Tenders (lifeboats):

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Each boat can comfortably accommodate 80 passengers. In case of an emergency, if the boat needs to be used for its intended purpose, 2 times more is placed here:

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There is a small fishing village on the island where about 700 people live. They were all fenced off from tourists with an invisible fence so that they wouldn’t pester too much with their souvenirs for “van dola!”:

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Souvenirs could be purchased both from local children and in a civilized manner - in a beach store:

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Several rangers and locals accompanied us deeper into the island. The locals had long sticks with a spear at the end in their hands. They use them to defend themselves from dragons. In the event of an attack, they rest their horn against the dragon’s eyes and push it away from them:

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On the territory of the park in the jungle there are paths along which tourists are led:

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These are not bananas, but the fruits of the cotton tree:

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When they ripen, they open up and look like large lumps of cotton wool:

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On Komodo Island there are not only giant lizards, but also specimens of quite familiar sizes:

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I was too lazy to change the lens. These ants were filmed at 500:

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Flying lizard:

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Deer are the most favorite food of dragons. Having tracked a deer, wild boar or buffalo in the bushes, the dragon attacks and seeks to inflict a lacerated wound on the animal, into which poison and many bacteria from the monitor lizard’s oral cavity are introduced. Even the largest male dragons do not have enough strength to immediately defeat a large ungulate animal, but as a result of such an attack, the victim’s wound becomes inflamed, blood poisoning occurs, the animal gradually weakens and after a while dies. The only thing left for the monitor lizards is to follow the victim until it dies. The time it takes for it to die varies depending on its size. For example, in a buffalo, death occurs after 3 weeks.

At one time, they conducted an experiment and tried to feed the monitor lizards with brought deer, but they began to get sick and die. For some reason, they can only eat local animals:

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In total, about 1,000 passengers descended on the island. We were divided into groups of 25 people and driven along the same route with an interval of 5 minutes:

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Dragons were “prepared” for us along the route in advance. If you look closely at their bellies, you will see that they have recently eaten a hearty meal and simply cannot move:

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The Komodo dragon is an amazing and truly unique animal, which is not without reason called a dragon. The largest living lizard spends most of its time hunting. It is an object of pride for the islanders and a constant source of interest for tourists.

Our article will tell you about the life of this dangerous predator, the characteristics of its behavior and characteristics characteristic of the species.

Appearance

The photos of Komodo monitor lizards given in our article help to understand why the locals nicknamed this reptile a land crocodile. These animals are indeed comparable in size.

Most adult Komodo dragons reach 2.5 meters in length, while their weight barely exceeds half a centner. But among the giants there are record holders. There is reliable information about the Komodo dragon, whose length exceeded 3 meters and weight reached 150 kg.

Only a specialist can visually distinguish a male from a female. Sexual dimorphism is practically not expressed, but male monitor lizards are usually slightly more massive. But any tourist arriving on the island for the first time can determine which of the two monitor lizards is older: young animals are always brighter in color. In addition, with age, wrinkles and leathery growths form on dull skin.

The body of the monitor lizard is squat, stocky, with very powerful limbs. The tail is mobile and strong. The paws are topped with huge claws.

The huge mouth looks menacing, even when the monitor lizard is calm. The nimble forked tongue that emerges from it every now and then is described by many eyewitnesses as creepy and frightening.

Story

Giant monitor lizards were first discovered on Komodo Island in the early 20th century. Since then, scientists have continued to study the species.

It has been established that the history of the development and evolution of monitor lizards is connected with Australia. The species diverged from its historical ancestor approximately 40 million years ago, then emigrated to the distant mainland and nearby islands.

Later the population shifted to the islands of Indonesia. This may be due to natural phenomena or a decline in the populations of species of food interest to monitor lizards. In any case, the fauna of Australia only benefited from such a relocation - many species were literally saved from extinction. But the Indonesian ones were unlucky: many scientists associate their extinction with predators of the Varanus genus.

Modernity has successfully mastered new territories and feels great.

Features of behavior

Monitor lizards are diurnal and prefer to sleep at night. Like other cold-blooded animals, they are sensitive to temperature changes. Hunting time comes at dawn. Leading a solitary lifestyle, monitor lizards are not averse to joining forces while chasing game.

It may seem that Komodo dragons are clumsy, fat creatures, but this is far from the case. These animals are unusually hardy, agile and strong. They are capable of reaching speeds of up to 20 km/h, and while they run, the earth, as they say, trembles. Dragons feel no less confident in the water: swimming to the neighboring island is not a problem for them. Sharp nails, strong muscles and a tail-balancer help these animals to climb trees and steep rocks perfectly. Needless to say, how difficult it is for the victim he has his eye on to escape from a monitor lizard?

Dragon life

Adult Komodo dragons live separately from each other. But once a year the flock converges. The period of love and creation of families begins with bloody battles in which it is simply impossible to lose. The fight can end either in victory or death from wounds.

No other animal is dangerous for the monitor lizard. In their natural habitat, these animals do not know anyone stronger than themselves. People don't hunt them either. Only another dragon can kill a dragon.

Mating games of titans

The monitor lizard who defeats his opponent can choose a girlfriend with whom he will have children. The pair will build a nest, the female will guard the eggs for about eight months, which may be encroached upon by small nocturnal predators. By the way, relatives are also not averse to enjoying such a delicacy. But as soon as the babies are born, the mother will leave them. They will have to survive on their own, relying only on the ability to camouflage and run.

Monitor lizards do not form permanent pairs. The next mating season will begin from scratch - that is, with new battles in which more than one dragon will die.

Komodo dragon on the hunt

This animal is a real killing machine. The Komodo Islands can even attack those that are significantly larger than them, such as buffalos. After the death of the victim, a feast ensues. Monitor lizards eat the carcass, tearing off and swallowing huge pieces.

It is noteworthy that most predators prefer one thing - either fresh meat or carrion. The monitor lizard's digestive system is capable of coping with both. Giants enjoy feasting on carcasses brought by the sea.

Deadly poison

Powerful jaws, muscles and claws are not the monitor lizard’s only weapons. Unique saliva can be called a real pearl of the arsenal. It contains not only huge doses (probably obtained from eating carrion), but also poison.

For a long time, scientists were confident that the death of a bitten victim was due to simple sepsis. But recently the presence of poisonous glands was discovered. The amount of poison is small and causes instant death only in small animals. But the dose received is enough to trigger irreversible processes.

Monitor lizards are not only excellent tacticians, but also amazing strategists. They know how to wait, sometimes hanging around near the victim for 2-3 weeks and watching how it slowly dies.

Coexistence with man

A natural question arises: can a Komodo dragon kill a woman, man or teenager? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. The mortality rate of a monitor lizard bite exceeds 90%. The poison is especially dangerous for a child.

But modern medicine has an antidote. Therefore, in case of an unsuccessful attempt to make friends with a monitor lizard, you should immediately go to the hospital. The death of a person from a bite is not such a common occurrence these days. As a rule, it occurs if a person hopes that he can cope with the illness. Doctors strongly recommend not to take risks; human immunity is not designed to withstand such stress as the venom of an exotic lizard.

This should be remembered not only by tourists, but also by those who decide to place an unusual pet at home. The intensive care unit of a district hospital may simply not have the necessary antidote, so a preliminary consultation with a competent breeder is extremely necessary.

Monitor lizards in the reserve

No matter how sad it may sound, the formidable predator takes its place in the Red Book. Monitor lizards are protected at the state level. But on the islands of Komodo, Flores, Gili Motang and Rinca, huge reserves have been created in which giants live for their own pleasure. Despite the security and work of a team of professionals, cases of attacks on people are sometimes recorded. This often occurs due to excessive human attention to eating or fighting predators. A camera flash or noise can trigger an attack.

Therefore, if you intend to admire Komodo dragons, follow the rules of the reserve and listen to the advice of the instructor.

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordata

Class: Reptiles

Squad: Scaly

Family: Monitor lizards

Genus: Monitor lizards

View: Komodo dragon

Monitor lizards are the largest lizards in the world. In size, some of them are not inferior to crocodiles, although they are not related to them. Systematically, monitor lizards are closer to snakes than other lizards. These reptiles are classified into a separate family of monitor lizards, which includes 70 species.

Where does the Komodo dragon live?

Currently, the Komodo dragon lives only on 5 islands in Indonesia: Komodo (about 1,700 individuals), Gili Motang (about 100 individuals), Rinja (about 1,300 individuals), Flores (about 2,000 individuals) and Padan (information on the habitat on this island varies). But, according to scientists, the homeland of lizards of this species is Australia. It was from this continent that about 900,000 years ago the Komodos monitor lizards migrated to the islands, which at that time were not islands, but formed a single landmass together with Australia. Subsequent sea level rise isolated the islands from the mainland.

The largest lizard in the world chooses dry areas of plains, savannas or tropical forests, maximally warmed by the sun's rays, as its habitat. In particularly dry and hot months, the animal tries to stay close to the beds of dry reservoirs, the banks of which are covered with shady jungle thickets. The largest monitor lizard in the world is a good swimmer and willingly accepts water procedures: if necessary, it freely covers quite long distances by swimming in search of fish or sea turtles washed up on the coast. Some Komodo dragons calmly swim to numerous islets located between Komodo, Padar and Rindja.

Despite the apparent clumsiness and slowness on land, the largest reptile in the world runs well over short distances, reaching speeds of up to 18-20 km per hour. And in order to reach the coveted prey from a height, she quite gracefully stands on her hind legs, leaning on her strong tail. Young and not yet very massive Komodo dragons climb trees very well, spending a lot of time on branches and using hollows as reliable shelters.

Evolution

The skull of a modern Komodo dragon and the fossilized remains of more ancient individuals of this species. The evolutionary development of the Komodo dragon begins with the appearance of the genus Varanus, which, according to modern research, originated in Asia approximately 40 million years ago and migrated to Australia. About 15 million years ago, a collision between Australia and Southeast Asia allowed monitor lizards to colonize what would become the Indonesian archipelago and colonize islands such as remote Timor. The Komodo dragon was previously thought to have diverged from its Australian ancestor about 4 million years ago.

However, relatively recently discovered fossils in Queensland indicate that it evolved for a long time in Australia before reaching Indonesia. Lowering sea levels during the last ice age opened up vast areas of land that helped Komodo dragons colonize their modern habitats, but subsequent sea level rises isolated them to islands. This saved the species from the mass extinction of the Australian megafauna.

Appearance of a Komodo dragon

The size of these predatory reptiles is truly impressive. A wild Komodo dragon as an adult weighs about 75–90 kg with an average length of 2.5–2.6 m. Males are much larger than females. According to statistics, the maximum weight of females is 68–70 kg, with a length of 2.3 m. In an artificial habitat, the animal can reach more impressive dimensions. One such example is the pet of the zoo in St. Louis: weighing 166 kg, with a body length of 3.14 m.

Today the population of large monitor lizards is declining, which is associated with degradation. And the reason for this is the poor nutritional diet in their natural habitats and mass poaching.

They have a squat, dense build with muscular limbs. The location on the sides and long claws contribute to convenient hunting and fast movement. These paws are also convenient for digging deep holes. They have a large tail, often comparable in size to the body. Unlike lizards, they do not throw it off when in danger, but begin to hit it to the sides. The head is flat, on a short massive neck. Looking at it from the front or in profile, associations with a snake appear.

The skin consists of two layers: scaly– basic, with superposition of small ossified growths. Young representatives are brighter in color. Orange-yellowish spotting is observed along the entire outer length, ending with stripes on the neck and tail. In a mature state, the skin is transformed, repainted in a gray-brown color with small yellow speckles.

The teeth are like peaks, sharp and long, one side attached to the jaw bones. This is an ideal device for tearing prey apart. The tongue is very long, sinuous, with a fork at the end.

Lifestyle

The Komodo dragon is a diurnal animal; it does not hunt at night. At night they sleep soundly in their shelters. Although, only isolated cases of nocturnal activity of these animals have been observed.

Young monitor lizards are excellent climbers and live in hollows for their own safety.

Komodo dragons are excellent swimmers. They can safely swim across small rivers, bays, or cover the distance to neighboring nearby islands. However, they cannot survive in water for more than 15 minutes. And if they don’t manage to get to land, they drown. Perhaps it was this factor that influenced the natural boundaries of the habitat of these animals.

Monitor lizards run fast. At short distances its speed can reach 20 km/h. When necessary, they can stand on their hind legs, using their powerful tail as support.

Preferring to live alone, these huge lizards rarely gather in groups; a short association of monitor lizards can only trigger the mating season and feeding, but even these periods will be accompanied by constant skirmishes and fights, both between males and between females.

The long tongue that the Komodo dragon is endowed with is a very important olfactory organ. By sticking out its tongue, the monitor lizard catches odors. The tactility of the monitor lizard's tongue is not inferior to the sensitivity of smell in dogs. A hungry beast is able to track down a victim using a single trace left by the victim a few hours ago.

Regulating body temperature

Climbing out of their burrows when the sun rises, monitor lizards prefer to sunbathe, completely spread out and stretching out their paws. Thus, the Komodo dragon increases its body temperature. As the temperature drops, monitor lizards do not show activity or reaction speed; their state is more sleepy than active. Having received a charge of solar energy, the Komodo dragon walks around its possessions, jealously observing whether there are any uninvited guests on its territory. The size of the Komodo dragon directly affects its body temperature - the older and larger the lizard, the longer it is able to retain heat, retaining it even at night, and the less time it will spend in the morning warming up its body.

He does not tolerate heat well, his body does not have sweat glands. And if the animal’s temperature exceeds 42.7°C, the monitor lizard will die from heatstroke.

Komodo dragon nutrition

The diet of the monitor lizard is varied. While the lizard is still in infancy, it can even eat insects. But as the individual grows, its prey increases in weight. Until the monitor lizard reaches a weight of 10 kg, it feeds on small animals, sometimes climbing to the tops of trees after them.

True, such “babies” can easily attack game that weighs almost 50 kg. But after the monitor lizard has gained weight more than 20 kg, its diet consists only of large animals. The monitor lizard waits for deer and wild boars at a watering hole or near forest paths. Seeing prey, the predator pounces, trying to knock down the victim with a blow of its tail.

Often, such a blow immediately breaks the legs of the unfortunate. But more often, the monitor lizard tries to bite the tendons on the victim’s legs. And even then, when the immobilized victim cannot escape, he tears the still living animal into large pieces, tearing them out of the neck or stomach. The monitor lizard eats a not particularly large animal entirely (for example, a goat). If the victim does not immediately surrender, the monitor lizard will still overtake him, guided by the smell of blood.

Varan is gluttonous. In one meal, he easily eats about 60 kg of meat, if he himself weighs 80. According to eyewitnesses, one is not too big female Komodo dragon(weighing 42 kg) in 17 minutes finished off a boar weighing 30 kg.

It is clear that it is better to stay away from such a cruel, insatiable predator. Therefore, from the areas where monitor lizards settle, for example, reticulated pythons, which simply cannot compare in hunting qualities with this animal, disappear.

How does the Komodo dragon hunt?

This predator has many methods of obtaining food in its arsenal. Sometimes the monitor lizard hunts from some kind of ambush - a stone, tree, bush. Most often, he waits for food in the forests in this way. When any animal approaches him, he hits it with a swing of his tail. After such a blow, the animal loses consciousness or its paws are broken.

The monitor lizard hunts large ungulates differently. Naturally, he cannot cope with a huge buffalo in a fair fight. Moreover, many Komodo dragons die from their horns or hooves.

Therefore, they do not try to engage in a fight with him. They surreptitiously approach him and simply bite him. After this, the buffalo is doomed.

The fact is that the saliva of this predator contains many pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria, entering the blood, cause sepsis (infection) and after a while the bitten person dies.

All this time, the monitor lizard follows on the heels of the victim and waits in the wings. During this time, other lizards will smell the rotting wound and they will also crawl and wait for the victim to die.

Komodo dragon venom

Reproduction

Animals of this species reach sexual maturity approximately in the fifth to tenth year of life, to which only a small part of the monitor lizards that are born survive. The sex ratio in the population is approximately 3.4:1 in favor of males. Perhaps this is a mechanism for regulating the number of the species in island habitat conditions. Since the number of females is much smaller than the number of males, during the breeding season ritual fights for the female occur between males. At the same time, monitor lizards stand on their hind legs and, clasping their opponent with their forelimbs, try to knock him down. In such fights, mature mature individuals usually win, young animals and very old males retreat. The winning male pins his opponent to the ground and scratches him with his claws for some time, after which the loser leaves.

Male Komodo dragons are much larger and more powerful than females. During mating, the male twitches his head, rubs his lower jaw against her neck and scratches the female's back and tail with his claws.

Mating occurs in winter, during the dry season. After mating, the female searches for a place to lay eggs. They are often the nests of weedy chickens that build compost heaps - natural incubators from fallen leaves to thermoregulate the development of their eggs. Having found a heap, the female monitor lizard digs a deep hole in it, and often several, in order to divert the attention of wild boars and other predators eating the eggs. Egg laying occurs in July–August, the average clutch size of the Komodo dragon is about 20 eggs. The eggs reach a length of 10 cm and a diameter of 6 cm, weighing up to 200 g. The female guards the nest for 8–8.5 months until the cubs hatch. Young lizards appear in April–May. Having been born, they leave their mother and immediately climb the neighboring trees. To avoid potentially dangerous encounters with adult monitor lizards, young monitor lizards spend the first two years of their lives in treetops, where they are inaccessible to adults.

Parthenogenesis has been discovered in Komodo dragons. In the absence of males, the female can lay unfertilized eggs, as observed in the Chester and London Zoos in England. Since male monitor lizards have two identical chromosomes, and females, on the contrary, are different, and the combination of identical ones is viable, all cubs will be male. Each egg laid contains either a W or a Z chromosome (in Komodo dragons, ZZ is male and WZ is female), and then the genes are duplicated. The resulting diploid cells with two W chromosomes die, and with two Z chromosomes they develop into new lizards. The ability for sexual and asexual reproduction in these reptiles is probably associated with the isolation of their habitat - this allows them to establish new colonies if, as a result of a storm, females without males are thrown onto neighboring islands.

Enemies of the Komodo dragon in nature

In its natural habitat, the Komodo dragon, which has reached adulthood, has almost no enemies. The lizard can only be threatened by larger relatives, humans or a saltwater crocodile. Although sometimes the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, when resisting, can be injured by its large prey - buffaloes and wild boars. Adolescent monitor lizards are often hunted by civets, snakes and birds of prey.

It is rare that giant Komodo dragons are domesticated and placed in zoos. But, surprisingly, monitor lizards quickly get used to humans, they can even be tamed. One of the representatives of the monitor lizards lived in the London Zoo, freely ate from the hands of the beholder and even followed him everywhere.

Nowadays, Komodo dragons live in the national parks of Rindja and Komodo islands. They are listed in the Red Book, so hunting these lizards is prohibited by law, and according to the decision of the Indonesian committee, the capture of monitor lizards is carried out only with a special permit.

Danger to humans

Komodo dragons are quite aggressive and are one of the potentially dangerous predators for humans. There are several known cases of monitor lizard attacks on people, including fatal ones. At the moment, their number only continues to grow. This is probably due to the fact that human settlements on the islands are few and far between, but they do exist, and these tend to be poor fishing villages whose population is growing rapidly (800 people according to 2008 data), increasing the likelihood of unpleasant encounters between people and wild predators. Since it is currently prohibited by law to kill Komodo dragons, over time they cease to be afraid of the people who once hunted them.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that previously the local population fed monitor lizards to avoid attacks by hungry animals, but now such actions have also been banned. In hungry years, especially during drought, Komodo monitor lizards come very close to settlements; they are especially attracted by the smell of human excrement, domestic animals, caught fish, etc. Cases of monitor lizards digging up human corpses from shallow graves are well known. Recently, however, Muslim Indonesians living on the islands bury their dead by covering them with dense cast cement slabs, inaccessible to monitor lizards. Gamekeepers usually catch potentially dangerous individuals and move them to other areas of the island.

Komodo dragon bites are extremely dangerous - even a relatively small monitor lizard is easily capable of tearing muscles from the thigh or humerus and causing large-scale blood loss with resulting painful shock. The number of deaths due to untimely provision of first medical aid (and, as a result, the onset of collapse) reaches 99%. As with crocodile bites, sepsis after a monitor lizard bite is quite common.

Because adult monitor lizards have a very good sense of smell, they can locate the source of even a faint blood odor from more than 5 km away. There have been several documented cases of Komodo dragons attempting to attack tourists with minor open wounds or scratches. A similar danger threatens women who visit the islands where Komodo dragons live during menstruation. Tourists are usually warned by rangers about potential danger; all groups of tourists are usually accompanied by rangers, armed with long poles with a forked end for defense against possible attacks. Such safety measures are usually sufficient, since in tourist areas monitor lizards are usually well-fed and quite tame to humans, not showing aggression without obvious provocation.

1. Komodo monitor lizards belong to the monitor lizard family. Adult body length monitor lizard – 3 meters, and the weight reaches 90 kilograms.
2. Monitor lizards They swim beautifully, run fast and even climb trees, although older individuals are reluctant to do this.
3. Life expectancy of a monitor lizard in the wild is on average 30 years.
4. Komodo's diet monitor lizard Almost everything is included. It can eat small animals and even large ones such as deer, buffalo, wild boar, etc.
5. Monitor lizards rarely attack people, and, nevertheless, cases of attack are known.
6. A long and forked tongue is necessary for predators in order to catch any odors. This is very important when hunting. In addition to their tongue, their successful body coloring also helps them hunt, thanks to which they successfully camouflage themselves and wait patiently.
7. To get a victim monitor lizard All you have to do is bite her and then wait for her to die from blood poisoning. The fact is that the saliva of a monitor lizard contains more 50 dangerous bacteria, which when released into the blood cause infection. A keen sense of smell helps the monitor lizard track down an infected animal in order to eat it later. Interestingly, at one time this creature can eat up to 80% of own weight.
8. Mating between monitor lizards occurs from May to August, and egg laying occurs in September. At one time the female lays up to 30 eggs, which is stored in a dug hole.
9. Komodo dragon- hermit. Monitor lizards meet with their relatives only during mating. Every day, males guard their territory, walking several kilometers. Sometimes males swim to other islands in search of new housing. Monitor lizards live in burrows, since it is burrows that regulate body temperature well.
10. Monitor lizards very vulnerable creatures due to their too limited habitat. In addition, reptiles are vulnerable due to constant earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, illegal trapping and a small amount of food. Animals were hunted for a long time, as a result of which today monitor lizards are listed in the Red Book.
11. IN 1980 Komodo National Park was opened in Indonesia, which helped protect monitor lizards from extinction.
12. In Komodo monitor lizards excellent vision. They can see their prey even from a distance 300 meters. And yet the main sense organ monitor lizards The sense of smell is considered.
13. After eating monitor lizards The abdomen greatly increases in size. However, if they urgently need to flee from enemies, they are able to empty it themselves.
14. When kept in captivity (these cases are very rare), giant reptiles quickly get used to humans and become practically tame. One such representative of the species lived in the London Zoo, he responded to a nickname, took food from people's hands and ran on the heels of his keepers.
15. In 2003, Nature Australia published a brief report on a young monitor lizard named Kraken, who lives at the Washington Zoo and loves to play with toys. The Kraken was observed by Dr. Gordon Burkhart and his colleagues at the University of Tennessee. Scientists studied the play behavior of the monitor lizard for two years and during this time recorded 31 videos in which the lizard is seen playing with various objects - a rubber ring, a bucket filled with toilet paper rolls, a handkerchief and a tennis shoe.

Biologists didn’t just give the monitor lizard different objects, they soaked them in different smells to observe the subsequent reaction. Rabbit blood, corn oil and even perfume were used as a source of smell. The Kraken could choose between a “prey” toy soaked in rabbit blood and a “non-prey” toy soaked in other scents. If the toy did not smell of blood, the Kraken could, like a dog, ruffle a handkerchief, play with a rubber ring or a shoe. But if the same object was soaked in blood, the monitor lizard exhibited the behavior of a predator. The lizard beat its tail, guarded the object as if it were a piece of food, and was producing copious amounts of saliva.

Video

The Komodo dragon (giant Indonesian monitor, Komodo monitor) (lat. Varanus komodoensis) is the largest in the world. The predatory reptile belongs to the order Squamate, superfamily Varanidae, family of monitor lizards, genus of monitor lizards. The Komodo dragon, also called the “dragon of Komodo Island,” got its name from one of its habitats.

Seasoned and strong monitor lizards can easily cope with more impressive prey: wild boars, buffalos, and goats. Often, livestock who come to water bodies to drink or accidentally encounter this dangerous lizard get caught in the teeth of adult Komodo dragons. The Komodo monitor lizard is also dangerous for humans; there are known cases of these predators attacking people. If there is not enough food, large monitor lizards can attack smaller relatives. When eating food, the Komodo dragon can swallow very large pieces due to the movable joint of the lower jaw bones and a capacious stomach, which tends to stretch.

Hunting Komodo dragon.

The hunting principle of the Komodo dragon is quite cruel. Sometimes a large predatory lizard attacks its prey from ambush, suddenly knocking down its “future dinner” with a powerful and sharp blow of its tail. Moreover, the force of the impact is so great that potential prey often suffers broken legs. 12 out of 17 deer die on the spot when fighting with a lizard. However, sometimes the victim manages to escape, although she may suffer severe injuries in the form of torn tendons or lacerations in the abdomen or neck, which leads to inevitable death. The venom of the monitor lizard and the bacteria contained in the reptile's saliva weaken the victim. In large prey, such as buffalo, death can occur only 3 weeks after a fight with a monitor lizard. Some sources indicate that the giant Komodo dragon will chase its prey by smell and traces of blood until it is completely exhausted. Some animals manage to escape and heal their wounds, other animals fall into the clutches of predators, and others die from wounds inflicted by the monitor lizard. An excellent sense of smell allows the Komodo dragon to smell food and the smell of blood at a distance of up to 9.5 km. And when the victim does die, monitor lizards come running to the smell of carrion to eat the dead animal.

Venom of the Komodo dragon.

Previously, it was believed that the saliva of the Komodo dragon contains only a harmful “cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria, to which the predatory lizard is immune. However, relatively recently, scientists have determined that the monitor lizard has a pair of poisonous glands located on the lower jaw and which produce special toxic proteins that cause decreased blood clotting, hypothermia, paralysis, low blood pressure and loss of consciousness in the bitten victim. The glands have a primitive structure: they do not have canals in the teeth, like, for example, in snakes, but open at the base of the teeth with ducts. Thus, the bite of the Komodo dragon is poisonous.

Komodo is a small island in Indonesia, famous throughout the world for its giant monitor lizards or dragons. These are the largest lizards on earth, growing up to 3 meters in length and weighing 150 kilograms. Their bite is poisonous and they are dangerous to humans.

Because adult dragons have a very good sense of smell, they can locate the source of the scent of blood up to 5 km away. There have been several documented cases of Komodo dragons attempting to attack tourists with minor open wounds or scratches. A similar danger threatens women who visit the island while on their menstrual cycle...

We approached the island early in the morning. For some reason, I imagined it to be flat and rocky, but it turned out to be green and hilly, similar to Tolkien’s Interland:

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There is no port on the island and we stopped at a roadstead. The pies of the natives immediately approached us:

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Some were simply watching the huge white ship with interest, while others were trying to sell local beads and wood crafts:

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At first, I didn’t understand how they were going to take money from me and give me goods, given that the open deck of the ship is at the height of the 5th floor:

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Everything fell into place when we got into the boats to get to the shore:

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There was no pier where our liner could moor on the Island, and we were taken ashore on Tenders (lifeboats):

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Each boat can comfortably accommodate 80 passengers. In case of an emergency, if the boat needs to be used for its intended purpose, 2 times more is placed here:

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There is a small fishing village on the island where about 700 people live. They were all fenced off from tourists with an invisible fence so that they wouldn’t pester too much with their souvenirs for “van dola!”:

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Souvenirs could be purchased both from local children and in a civilized manner - in a beach store:

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Several rangers and locals accompanied us deeper into the island. The locals had long sticks with a spear at the end in their hands. They use them to defend themselves from dragons. In the event of an attack, they rest their horn against the dragon’s eyes and push it away from them:

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On the territory of the park in the jungle there are paths along which tourists are led:

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These are not bananas, but the fruits of the cotton tree:

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When they ripen, they open up and look like large lumps of cotton wool:

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On Komodo Island there are not only giant lizards, but also specimens of quite familiar sizes:

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I was too lazy to change the lens. These ants were filmed at 500:

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Flying lizard:

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Deer are the most favorite food of dragons. Having tracked a deer, wild boar or buffalo in the bushes, the dragon attacks and seeks to inflict a lacerated wound on the animal, into which poison and many bacteria from the monitor lizard’s oral cavity are introduced. Even the largest male dragons do not have enough strength to immediately defeat a large ungulate animal, but as a result of such an attack, the victim’s wound becomes inflamed, blood poisoning occurs, the animal gradually weakens and after a while dies. The only thing left for the monitor lizards is to follow the victim until it dies. The time it takes for it to die varies depending on its size. For example, in a buffalo, death occurs after 3 weeks.

At one time, they conducted an experiment and tried to feed the monitor lizards with brought deer, but they began to get sick and die. For some reason, they can only eat local animals:

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In total, about 1,000 passengers descended on the island. We were divided into groups of 25 people and driven along the same route with an interval of 5 minutes:

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Dragons were “prepared” for us along the route in advance. If you look closely at their bellies, you will see that they have recently eaten a hearty meal and simply cannot move:

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According to one rather serious hypothesis, it was the monitor lizards of the Indonesian island of Komodo that served as the prototype of the Chinese dragon: after all, an adult Varanus Komodoensis can exceed three meters in length and weigh more than one and a half centners. This is the largest lizard on Earth: with one blow of its tail it kills a deer.

Personally, what struck me most was their resemblance to dinosaurs. It’s no wonder: dragons already lived on Earth half a million years ago.

There is also the following formulation: “the only animals preserved on land since the time of dinosaurs,” but here I did not find any indisputable evidence.

However, you readily believe about the dinosaurs’ contemporaries as soon as you look closely into the dragon’s eyes: something so otherworldly emanates from his unblinking gaze that you immediately understand that he really is alien, completely alien... From a completely different era...

You don’t have time to really come to your senses, and he’s already rushing towards you.

This is how the Komodo was described by a member of the Indonesian-Soviet expedition in 1962, herpetologist I.S. Darevsky: “A monitor lizard calmly emerged from the thickets and, not paying any attention to us, leisurely wandered along the path following the wild boars. At the same time, he did not drag his body along the ground, like many other lizards, but held it on outstretched paws, high above the ground This sight completely shocked us.

Illuminated by the evening sun, the huge lizard looked like a prehistoric monster, somewhat reminiscent of a giant dinosaur that had long disappeared from Earth. A snake-like head with black shiny eyes and gaping ear sockets, large hanging folds of orange-brown skin on the neck gave the animal a frightening and somehow fairy-tale appearance."

And here is how the locals tell about him: “Once upon a time on the island of Komodo there lived a beautiful princess Putri Naga, whose name is translated into Russian as “Princess of Dragons/Snakes.” She married a man named Najo and gave birth to two twins from him: a boy and a girl... The boy was like a boy, and his name was Xi Gerong. But the girl was... well, you already understand, right?

That's it. The girl was the spitting image of a dragonsaurus: she was even named Ora (that’s what the locals still call Komodo dragons to this day). And so they raised their children separately: Si Gerong grew up in the village and in front of everyone, and Ora grew up in the forest and in secret.

So: Si Gerong grew up and became a beautiful and strong young man. And he went hunting and killed a deer. And then some monster came running (he thought so) and started stealing the deer. Xi Gerong was offended and wanted to drive away the monster, but it did not drive away. Then he got angry and wanted to hit the monster with a spear, but then a beauty shining with all her might appeared out of thin air (this was the Dragon Princess, but why Xi Gerong didn’t know his mother’s face, the legend is silent) and said: “Don’t kill this animal, it’s "Your sister Ora. I gave birth to you together. Consider her your equal, because you are twins."

Since then, local residents of the islands of Komodo and Rinca have considered dragonsaurs their relatives and even feed them during the dry season, which is difficult for all living things. And none of them ever offend each other (in a fairy tale, but in reality the situation is different, especially lately).

- Is it true that lately dragons have begun to attack people much more often? - I asked the ranger on Rinca Island, which is also part of the Komodo Nature Reserve.

- Yes it is. Just recently, the same monitor lizard climbed up the stairs into the house and attacked our friend right there. Don’t look at the fact that he is young and still small in size: this does not make him any less dangerous...

- How do you explain this increase in attacks? - I asked the second question.

- We, the rangers, believe that the reason was the categorical insistence of ecologists to put an end to the ancient practice when people, when killing, say, deer, left the insides of the monitor lizards. The Komodos are just hungry...

This is how, as a result of the desire to return “little animals” to their pristine (and who saw it?) environment at any cost, without taking into account the realities that have developed over the centuries, people die...

One of the attractions of Komodo Island is the memorial to Baron Rudolf von Redding - the famous Swiss hunter and naturalist fell behind the group and died on the island in June 1972 under unclear circumstances. After a two-day search, only his mangled movie camera was found. No wonder: even from a buffalo this is all that remains (see photo on the right).

The rest is swallowed and digested by the dragonsaurs.
In general, if you find yourself on Komodo, remember: the sleepy and lazy appearance of the dragon is deceptive - it attacks quickly.

Komodo National Nature Reserve: 1817 square kilometers of land and sea, including the large islands of Komodo and Rinca, ... ... the small Padar and Gili Motan, as well as many tiny and microscopic ones. Over a thousand species of fish, 385 species of reef-forming corals, 70 species of sponges, ten dolphins, six whales... Three and a half thousand people in four villages. And, of course, the dragons themselves, who have been getting along worse with people lately.

Here is the chronicle for the last two years:

June 2007- the first fatal incident with dragons in 33 years: a nine-year-old boy, Mansur, was killed while squatting in the bushes on Komodo Island.

“Komodo grabbed him by the waist with his teeth and began to violently shake him from side to side,” said the official representative of the reserve, Heru Rudiharto. “A fisherman who happened to be nearby - the boy’s uncle - began throwing stones at the lizard until he let go of the victim and ran away. However, the boy died from loss of blood half an hour later."

June 2008- strong currents bring a group of five European divers led by a British “instructor” from Flores, Kathleen Mitchinson, to the island of Rinca, who got lost while diving between the islands of Tatawa and Komodo.

The divers - three from the UK and one each from France and Sweden - washed up at dusk on the beach of the island of Rinca. And throughout the next day, they shouted and threw stones and sticks to drive away the dragon that had come to meet them.

February 2009- just the case that my interlocutor mentioned (see above): a young dragon climbed the stairs to the rangers’ hut on Rinca Island and attacked a reserve worker sitting at the table.

Under attack, 46-year-old huntsman Main jumped out of the window, and his colleagues drove the lizard away. Despite his seriously bitten leg and arm (over 30 stitches were required), Main remained alive.

“I was lucky,” he said at a clinic in Bali. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me: in 25 years of work I have never been attacked.”

March 2009- on the island of Rinca (according to other reports - on the island of Komodo), thirty-year-old fisherman Muhamad Anwar, who was collecting fruit, died. Komodo suddenly grabbed his heel. Friends on the boat heard his scream and came running to help, local police chief Benny Hutajulu told AFP.

The victim died from loss of blood in a clinic on Flores.

To be continued...

Read in a week:

What does a dragonsaurus eat for breakfast? - A unique spectacle of a “feast” of monitor lizards. - Sharon Stone's husband almost made it onto the Komodo menu.