Where is komodo dragon from

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Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. Science Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. Life for a young dragon is not easy. Fortunately for the babies, the adults are too heavy and clumsy to climb trees. Youngsters live in the trees eating anything that fits into their mouth: eggs, grasshoppers, beetles, and geckos. However, their primary diet is the Tokay gecko, an aggressive lizard itself with an unmistakably loud call!

The young dragons find them most often in the hollows of tree trunks where the geckos nest and shelter. When they are about 4 years old and 4 feet long 1. The San Diego Zoo acquired its first two Komodo dragons in They were believed to be a "pair" male and female , but were too young when they arrived for us to be absolutely certain about that.

Named One Eye, that male arrived from the Basel Zoo in Switzerland in , but no offspring were ever produced. We planned to find an easy, safe way to determine the sex of Komodos at a young age. After nine months of blood sampling and ultrasound exams, we found that we could determine the sex of two-year-old dragons successfully. This knowledge is tremendously helpful for managed-care breeding programs. The technique also proved successful in determining the sex of all our monitor lizards as well as Gila monsters and beaded lizards.

The Kenneth C. Griffin Komodo Kingdom at the Zoo opened in summer The magnificent Komodo dragon is endangered.

One study estimated the population of Komodo dragons within Komodo National Park to be 2, Another study estimated between 3, and 3, individuals. On the much larger island of Flores, which is outside the National Park, the number of dragons has been estimated from to Komodo dragons that live outside of the National Park are at greatest risk, as habitat fragmentation and frequent burning of grasslands to hunt Timor deer are the greatest risks to their survival.

On the island of Flores, Komodo habitat is shrinking quickly because of the impact of a human population of approximately 2 million. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance participates in conservation research to help these carnivorous giants. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption.

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These reptiles are tertiary predators at the top of their food chain and are also cannibalistic. Although the Komodo dragon can briefly reach speeds of 10 to 13 mph 16 to 20 kph , its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. It can spend hours in one spot along a game trail — waiting for a deer or other sizable and nutritious prey to cross its path — before launching an attack. Most of the monitor's attempts at bringing down prey are unsuccessful.

However, if it is able to bite its prey, bacteria and venom in its saliva will kill the prey within a few days. After the animal dies, which can take up to four days, the Komodo uses its powerful sense of smell to locate the body. A kill is often shared between many Komodo dragons. Monitors can see objects as far away as feet meters , so vision does play a role in hunting, especially as their eyes are better at picking up movement than at discerning stationary objects.

Their retinas possess only cones, so they may be able to distinguish color but have poor vision in dim light. They have a much smaller hearing range than humans and, as a result, cannot hear sounds like low-pitched voices or high-pitched screams.

The Komodo dragon's sense of smell is its primary food detector. It uses its long, yellow, forked tongue to sample the air. It then moves the forked tip of its tongue to the roof of its mouth, where it makes contact with the Jacobson's organs.

These chemical analyzers "smell" prey, such as a deer, by recognizing airborne molecules. If the concentration of molecules present on the left tip of the tongue is greater than that sample from the right, the Komodo dragon knows that the deer is approaching from the left.

This system, along with an undulatory walk, in which the head swings from side to side, helps the dragon sense the existence and direction of food. At times, these reptiles can smell carrion, or rotting flesh, up to 2. This lizard's large, curved and serrated teeth are its deadliest weapon, tearing flesh with efficiency. The tooth serrations hold bits of meat from its most recent meal, and this protein-rich residue supports large numbers of bacteria.

Some 50 different bacterial strains, at least seven of which are highly septic, have been found in the saliva. Researchers have also documented a venom gland in the dragon's lower jaw.

In addition to the harmful bacteria, the venom prevents the blood from clotting, which causes massive blood loss and induces shock. The Komodo's bite may be deadly, but not to another Komodo dragon. Those wounded while sparring with each other appear to be unaffected by the bacteria and venom.

Scientists are searching for antibodies in Komodo dragon blood that may be responsible. The lizard's throat and neck muscles allow it to rapidly swallow huge chunks of meat.