Komodo dragon

The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard living today. They are normally found in Indonesia and some other remote islands. These dragons start out living in trees and then grow to live on the ground. The Komodo Dragon has venom which it uses to kill their prey. This usually takes about a few days for it to take effect. Along with the the venom they also use the bacteria in their saliva to slowly rot and cause septicemia and infection in their prey. The Komodo Dragon, however is immune to the bacteria. 

Anatomy
Large adults tend to weigh around 70kg (154 pounds). Their tales are as long as their bodies. The largest found Komodo was 10 feet 3 inches long, and weighed 365 pounds. They have 52 one inch size teeth in their mouth. The komodo dragon has incredibly tough skin and what looks like scales are really little spikes to protect it from the sun and from other komodos.

Their jaws are able to bend and move in positions so that it will be easy to swallow things whole. They are fast runners in only short distances and catches their prey by ambushing them. If they happen to not bring down the animal, but is able to bite it, it will usually die with in a few days depending on the size of the animal. They have an incredible sense of smell and can track something down over fore miles away. 



Reproduction
Mating season is the only way they will allow other komodos into their territory, which usually go from May to August. The males fight for territory and wrestle for females. In this, the one who pins the other is the winner and gets the female. The males are larger than the females and are a grey to a brick red color. The females are usually a greener color with spots on their throat. After mating, the female will dig a burrow and lay about twenty eggs. She will then rarely leave the nest. She also goes on a fasting stage, and will not eat for months. The eggs take about seven months for them to hatch. When they do, they will live in trees until they are older. 

Diet
Komodos are strictly carnivores. The main diet for a Komodo Dragon are mainly small deer, goats, wild pigs, and will sometimes eat their own kind too. But they also scavenge and will eat fish that got washed up on shore and something dead. They are not very picky eaters and will take down a human if it comes to close. They eat basically anything it can over power. Eating is another time that they will come together. Other than that they stay away from each other.  

Ecology
Komodo Dragons like to live in hot and flat environments, and like to burrow into the grown to stay cool, or to regulate their body temperature.

Their claws are first considered and a way of escaping other predators, but once they are older they use it to defend their territory and to rip open their prey.

In the wild, Komodo dragons are solitary animals and their territories range depending on the size of the dragon. Feeding ranges extend further and can be shared with other males. 

Related References

 * Komodo dragon Wikipedia
 * Dragon Honolulu Zoo
 * Komodo Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)