Animal Curiosity: Komodo Dragon

Hello! Welcome today I start with a section that I hope you like and support, will be of curiosities of the animal world, things that maybe you did not know of some animals. I hope you will support me and share to continue with the section.

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The Komodo dragon ( Varanus komodoensis ) is the largest lizard on the planet , precisely, hence its legendary name. If you want to be safe in the islands of Komodo and its surroundings, avoid getting near these huge reptiles , because I assure you that they are terrible predators and do not think twice before attacking birds, beasts or humans. Today we are going to tell you 7 things about the Komodo dragon that will surprise you .

1. A real dragon
   While we tell children that dragons do not exist because they are part of the fantasy, the truth is that on the island Komodo and some regions of Indonesia and Malaysia , there lives a strange type of lizard that shows off its name: Komodo dragon. Although its size and the shape of its body resemble it very much to the mythical animal of fantastic tales, these reptiles are very real, can reach 3 meters long and weigh 90 kg. They do not throw fire by the mouth, but they are very strong and ferocious.

1. The Komodo Dragon: the best diner in the area
   The Komodo dragons are excellent diners. This means that they can eat anything, especially animals. They eat birds, goats, deer, dogs, pigs and can occasionally attack humans. They are voracious and have adaptations to maintain their daily diet. One of these beasts can devour 80% of a body just in one meal. As a curious fact, let's say they are also cannibals , they can attack and eat other dragons, especially if they are young.

1. Adaptations of the Komodo dragon for food
   These large lizards have a tongue in the shape of a fork with which they smell and taste the chemical compounds in the air. In this way, they can know when there is some possible delicacy nearby. Then they wait patiently and when their prey arrives, they attack them with their powerful legs, which show enormous claws and 60 very sharp teeth.

1. The poison of the Komodo dragons
   If a prey has escaped from a Komodo dragon, it will not go very far. These reptiles have a secret weapon: their saliva . In this accumulate substances that pass into the blood of victims and kill them by poisoning. No matter how many miles the animal travels, the dragon waits quietly until the poison has its effect and then tracks the prey to feed.

1. Komodo dragons are immune to their poison
   One exception is the individuals of their own species, for some rare reason that is unknown, Komodo dragons are protected against the poison of their peers. Scientists are studying their blood to see if they find any substance that can serve as an antidote to the bites of this giant lizard.

1. Reproduction of the Komodo dragons
   The Komodo dragons mate between May and August. By September, fecundated females will lay around 30 eggs. The newborns are very small and defenseless, weighing 100 grams and measuring about 40 cm. During the first years, these creatures must live in the trees because they can be eaten easily by predators or by their own congeners, whose diet consists of little dragons by 10%.

1. How they regulate their temperature
   In spite of the strong sun of these islands, the dragons of Komodo keep cool taking refuge in their burrows, the ones that dig in the earth using those big claws they have. During the night, they are used to conserve body heat.

It is surprising that there are still animals on our planet that remember the age of the dinosaurs , that time when the giant reptiles dominated the world. The Komodo dragon and its properties are just a reminder of those distant times, and we hope that they do not end up being extinct like other species. What do you think?