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The largest lizard in the world. Interesting facts about lizards. Komodo monitor lizard - the largest predator lizard What does the monitor lizard eat

The monitor lizard is the largest of all lizards living on earth. In size, they are not inferior to crocodiles, although they do not belong to them. family ties. It is also one of the most ancient animals. Systematically monitor lizards stand closer to snakes. These reptiles have a separate family of monitor lizards, including more than 70 species.

So what does a monitor lizard look like?

All species of these large lizards have a medium or large body size - about 0.5-1 m. The largest is the Komodo monitor lizard, which is also called the Komodo dragon. Its length is about 3 m, and it weighs 140 kg! Well, you see, isn't it a dragon?

Smaragd monitor lizard (Varanus prasinus) is the most bright view. This monitor lizard lives in tropical forests and the green color acts as a camouflage

Large size and well-developed muscles distinguish large monitor lizards from other individuals. They have tenacious and strong paws, the middle part of the abdomen is somewhat expanded, a long, fleshy, whip-like tail. Many monitor lizards have a tail the same length as the body.

Unlike a real lizard, monitor lizards do not shed their tail in moments of danger, but they whip it from side to side perfectly. The muzzle of the monitor lizard is rounded on the nose, but its general features are more suitable for describing a snake than a lizard. True, this lizard has round pupils, while the snake does not.

The body of the reptile is covered with large, rounded scales, and each finger has a long, sharp claw. At the very tip of the tongue there is a bifurcation, thanks to which the monitor lizard smells smells that are very far away. The color of monitor lizards is not variegated, with a predominance of gray, sandy, black, brown tones. But some young individuals have a spotted and striped pattern.

Where do monitor lizards live

Monitor lizards are amateurs warm climate, so their ranges are located within tropical zone. The largest species diversity of these lizards is found in Australia and on nearby islands.

What does a monitor lizard eat

The monitor lizard is active predator not too picky about food. They feed on smaller reptiles (even poisonous snakes), young turtles, and insects. A special delicacy for monitor lizards are crocodiles, bird, snake eggs, so regular visits to places of possible clutches are, as it were, a hobby for them. The reptile can swallow the whole prey whole, or bite off pieces with its mouth.

Breeding monitor lizards

Monitor lizards, like most snakes, lay eggs. The mating season is at the beginning of spring. The female lays 15-20 eggs. Since the animal lives in a warm climate, incubation does not occur. However, as well as the responsible upbringing of offspring.

Enemies of monitor lizards in nature

Due to their large size, monitor lizards did not make enemies for themselves. Vulnerable are only young individuals, which can be eaten even by their own relatives. As a defense, the lizard hits the attacker with a massive tail, hisses, opens its mouth and bites very painfully.

The rarest species

Some species of monitor lizards are listed in the National Red Book, and komodo dragon listed in the International Red Book.

September 17th, 2015

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the administrator of the island of Flores (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbroek, that there were not known to science giant creatures.

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

Of course, you already guessed what we are talking about now ...

Photo 2.

According to local residents, the length of some monsters reaches seven meters, and three- and four-meter buya-darats are common. Curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum botanical park In the province of West Java, Peter Owen immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition in order to get a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Her skin and photographs were sent by Hensbroek to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this was not easy to do, since the natives were terribly afraid of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the Zoological Museum sent an animal trapping specialist to Flores. As a result, the employees of the zoological museum managed to get four specimens of "earth crocodiles", two of which were almost three meters long.

Photo 3.

In 1912, Peter Owens published in the Bulletin botanical garden an article about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming an animal previously unknown to the spider komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). Later it turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Ritya 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.

First World War forced to stop research, and only after 12 years, interest in the Komodo monitor resumed. Now, US zoologists have become the main researchers of the giant reptile. On the English language this reptile became known as komodo dragon(comodo dragon). For the first time, a live specimen was caught by the expedition of Douglas Barden in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed animals to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Photo 4.

Indonesian national park Komodo (Komodo National Park), protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs with 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 Komodo dragons. 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 such animals as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, Javan macaque.

Photo 5.

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 the length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is not more than two meters.

Years of research have made it possible to study well 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-sun areas, and are generally associated with arid plains, savannahs, and tropical dry forests.

Photo 6.

In the hot season (May-October), they often stick to dry riverbeds 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 own adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on smaller relatives. As shelters from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Hollow trees often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

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

Photo 7.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. About 1000 live on Komodo and Rincha, and on the smallest islands of the Gili Motang and Nusa Kode groups, only 100 individuals each.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually shrinking. 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.

Photo 8.

From modern species prey much larger than itself is attacked only by the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor lizard. The crocodile monitor lizard has very long and almost straight teeth. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful feeding by birds (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, which makes it easier for them to dismember prey in a tree where they spend most life.

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

Photo 9.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They practically eat everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and fish thrown out by storms, 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 buffaloes.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but rather steal it and grab it when it comes close by itself.

Photo 10.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very reasonable tactics. Adult monitor lizards, leaving the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, from time to time they stop and crouch to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. wild boars, they can knock down 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 course is launched " biological weapons» Komodo dragon.

Photo 11.

For a long time it was believed that the victim was eventually killed by disease-causing organisms in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the "deadly cocktail" of pathogenic bacteria and viruses in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

Studies led by Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland (Australia) have shown that the number and types of bacteria commonly found in the oral cavity of the Komodo dragon is not fundamentally different from other carnivores.

Moreover, according to Fry, the Komodo dragon is a very clean animal.

Komodo dragons inhabiting the islands of Indonesia are the most large predators on these islands. They prey on pigs, deer and Asiatic buffalo. 75% of pigs and deer die from the bite of a monitor lizard after 30 minutes from blood loss, another 15% - after 3-4 hours from the poison secreted by its salivary glands.

A larger animal - a buffalo, having been attacked by a monitor lizard, always, despite deep wounds, leaves the predator alive. Following its instinct, a bitten buffalo usually seeks refuge in a warm body of water teeming with anaerobic bacteria and eventually succumbs to the infection that enters 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 that enter his body from an infected drinking water. The number 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. These proteins, when they enter the body of the victim, prevent blood clotting, reduce blood pressure contribute to muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. Everything in general leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo monitor lizards is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located in the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in poisonous teeth, as in snakes.

Photo 12.

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

Photo 14.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow 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 buckle and it falls. For the monitor lizard, it's time for a feast. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at her. At the smell of blood, his relatives come running. In places of feeding, fights often arise between equal males. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

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

Photo 15.

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 a "great ancient tramp", preferred, like the Komodo monitor lizard, to settle in grassy savannahs 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 died out, but the Komodo dragon took their place, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to the time-forgotten islands to see the last representatives of the ancient world in natural conditions.

Photo 16.

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

The Komodo dragon is one of largest lizards in the world, belonging to the Varanov family, the Scaly order. In terms of size, it is comparable only to crocodiles, although it has no relationship with them. In nature, they live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rincha, Flores. The locals call this reptile the Komodo Dragon, the Ground Crocodile. According to research data, it historical homeland considered Australia. Gradually, he migrated to neighboring islands.

Lizard monitor lizard: description, characteristics

There is no reliable information about the origin of the Komodo dragon. Only it was classified as an animal fossil. The approximate time when dragons appeared on Earth is 5-10 million years ago. This is due to the fact that paleontologists the remains of the first representative of this species were found in the ancient layers of the Australian Peninsula. How he managed to get to another territory is not clear.

Appearance of the Komodo dragon

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

To date, the population large monitor lizards shrinking associated with degradation. And the reason for this is a meager nutritious diet in natural habitats and mass poaching.

They have a squat, stocky build with muscular limbs. The location on the sides and long claws contribute to convenient hunting and fast movement. It is also convenient to dig deep holes with such paws. Have big tail, often comparable in size to the body. Unlike lizards, they do not drop it in case of danger, but begin to beat on the sides. The head is flat, on a short massive neck. Looking at her full face or profile, associations with a snake appear.

The skin is made up of two layers: scaly- the main one, with the imposition of small ossified growths. Younger representatives are more bright color. Orange-yellowish spotting is observed throughout the 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 specks.

Teeth like spikes, sharp and long, one side attached to the jawbones. This is the perfect tool for tearing prey apart. The tongue is very long, sinuous, with a bifurcation at the end.

Where the monitor lizard lives and behavior in the wild

To date, monitor lizard populations are inhabited on five Indonesian islands: Komodo, Gili Motang, Rinja, Padan and Flores. Chooses land that is well warmed up sunbeams: savannas, plains, tropical woodlands. On hot days, it moves closer to the water, with shady thickets.

The Komodo monitor lizard is not accustomed to crowding with his fellows, leads an isolated life. Grouped only in the mating season or in search of food. Even then, they are constantly in compromise. They are active only during the daytime, and at night they sleep soundly in shelters, although there are exceptions to the rule.

Row features monitor lizards:

The bite of a monitor lizard can become tragic. This is caused by the presence in the saliva of a large accumulation of diaphoretic bacteria that cause blood poisoning. It is believed that this is due to eating carrion. Recently found in the oral cavity of the animal poisonous glands. When released into human blood, they can cause: dizziness, loss of consciousness, muscle paralysis.

In captivity, monitor lizards live much less, no more than 25 years. But in the wild areola - 35-60 years.

Lizard food

Varan is a king and god in his domain, as he is able to cope with all big game. He does not give in to a gecko or a boa constrictor, but is not averse to feasting on small representatives. There are frequent cases of attacks on his part: on horses, cows, buffaloes, deer, sheep. There were eyewitnesses who claimed that the predator easily coped with a mammal weighing 1200 kg. First, he bites the tendons, immobilizing the victim, and then gradually begins to eat.

In dry periods, he fasts, but in rainy periods, he eats everything. This species has signs of cannibalism. This is especially evident when shortage food. Large individuals eat small counterparts. Does not shun even the remains thrown ashore.

How it breeds

The mating season for monitor lizards begins in winter, during the dry season. Since the number of males prevails, there is a competitive struggle for each female. The fighters walk in a wall against each other, standing on their hind legs. They make a grab with the front. The strongest knocks the opponent on his back and begins to scratch him intensively. The defeated have to retreat in disgrace. And the winner leaves with the female to mate.

These are quite passionate lovers who, at the moment of intimacy, begin to rub against their partner's head and scratch their back and tail. He needs to be on top. This is how he shows his dominance. Then fertilized the lizard leaves to look for a place to lay eggs. Usually these are weed nests, foliage, compost heaps. Having pulled out a deep hole, lays up to 20-25 eggs there, each weighing up to 200 g. After 8 months, the babies hatch. And all this time the mother serves reliable protection. In order not to eat their cubs, lizards climb to the top of the tree. There they stay for the first 2 years, until the lizards grow up.

In addition to sexual fertilization, they are characterized by parthenogenesis. Postponed unfertilized eggs from which only males hatch.

Predators do not pose a potential danger to an adult. However, cases of lizard attacks have been recorded, when, for some reason, they were confused with prey. Let's take a look at some notable precedents taking place:

The bite of a Komodo dragon is not only painful and traumatic, but also causes toxic defeat blood. Without timely medical attention leads to death.
In dry and hungry seasons, lizards are highly aggressive. They are not afraid to approach human habitation, they are attracted by the smell food waste. In this state, they can attack small children. Even local burials become a source of food for them. Therefore, the inhabitants of the islands began to cover the dead with stone slabs.
There were times when the giants attacked groups of tourists. With their keen sense of smell, they smelled blood at a great distance.
In moments of danger, they can immediately empty the esophagus. This gives them mobility.

Due to the fact that these predatory reptiles are under protection, it is forbidden to kill them. To get rid of the aggressors, specially trained rangers conduct individual captures. Then the lizards are settled in other, sparsely populated regions of the islands.

September 17th, 2015

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the administrator of Flores Island (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbroek, that giant creatures unknown to science inhabit the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago.

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

Of course, you already guessed what we are talking about now ...

According to local residents, the length of some monsters reaches seven meters, and three- and four-meter buya-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 to get a reptile unknown to European science.

In 1912, Peter Owens published an article in the Bulletin of the Botanical Gardens about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming the animal, previously unknown to the spider, the Komodo monitor lizard (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). Later it turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Ritya 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 to stop research, and only 12 years later, interest in the Komodo monitor resumed. Now, US zoologists have become the main researchers of the giant reptile. In English, this reptile became known as the Komodo dragon (comodo dragon). For the first time, a live specimen was caught by the expedition of Douglas Barden in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed animals to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The Indonesian Komodo National Park, protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs with 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 Komodo dragons. 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 such animals as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, Javan macaque.

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

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

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

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very reasonable tactics. Adult monitor lizards, leaving the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, from time to time they stop and crouch to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. They can knock down wild boars, 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.

Moreover, according to Fry, the Komodo dragon is a very clean animal.

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

Pathogenic bacteria found in the oral cavity of Komodo dragons in previous studies, according to Fry, are traces of infections that enter his body from contaminated drinking water. The number 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. These proteins, when released into the body of the victim, prevent blood clotting, lower blood pressure, contribute to muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. Everything in general leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo monitor lizards is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located in the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in poisonous teeth, as in snakes.

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption is well aligned with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles, Megalania prisca, measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg, was found on this mainland. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin as “the great ancient tramp”, preferred, like the Komodo monitor lizard, to settle in grassy savannahs 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.

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

Posts from This Journal by “Life” Tag

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komodo dragon also called the giant Indonesian monitor lizard because it is the most big lizard on the ground. Its dimensions are impressive, because often such a lizard can grow more than 3 meters in length and weigh over 80 kg.

komodo dragon
Interestingly, in captivity monitor lizards reach large sizes than in wild nature. For example, one such representative lived in the St. Louis Zoo, whose weight was 166 kg at all, and its length was 313 cm.

Many scientists believe that in Australia (and monitor lizards originated there), it is common for animals to have gigantic sizes. In addition, megalania, a relative of monitor lizards, which has already died out, was much larger. It reached a length of 7 meters and weighed about 700 kg.

But different scientists different opinions, and it remains obvious that the Komodo monitor lizard has an impressive size, and this does not please all of its neighbors, because it is also a predator.

True, due to the fact that large ungulates are more and more exterminated by poachers, the monitor lizard has to look for smaller prey, and this depressingly affects its size.

Already, the average representative of these animals has a length and weight much less than what his relatives had just 10 years ago. The habitat of these reptiles is not too wide; they have chosen the islands of Indonesia.

About 1,700 monitor lizards live on Komodo, about 2,000 monitor lizards live on Flores Island, Rincha Island hosts 1,300 individuals and 100 monitor lizards settled on Gili Motang. Such accuracy speaks of how small this amazing animal has become.

The nature and lifestyle of the Komodo dragon

komodo dragon does not respect the society of his relatives too much, he prefers a solitary lifestyle. True, they also have times when such loneliness is violated. Basically, this happens during the breeding season or during feeding, then these animals can gather in groups.

It happens that there is a large dead carcass, from which the smell of carrion emanates. And monitor lizards have a highly developed sense of smell. And a rather impressive group of these lizards is going to this carcass. But most often, monitor lizards hunt alone, usually during the day, and hide in shelters at night. For shelter, they build burrows for themselves.

Such a hole can be up to 5 meters long, monitor lizards pull it out with their claws. And young people can easily hide in the hollow of a tree. But the animal does not strictly adhere to these rules.

He can walk through his territory at night in search of prey. He does not like active heat too much, so he prefers to be in the shade at this time. The Komodo monitor lizard feels most comfortable in dry terrain, especially if it is a small hill that is clearly visible.

In hot periods, he prefers to wander near rivers, looking for carrion that has washed ashore. Easily enters the water, because he is an excellent swimmer. It will not be difficult for him to overcome a fairly solid distance through the water.

But do not think that this bulky can only be dexterous in water. On land, when chasing prey, this clumsy beast can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h.

Very interesting watch komodo dragon on video- there are videos where you can see how he gets food from a tree - he stands on his hind legs, and uses his strong tail as a reliable support.

Adult and heavy individuals do not like to climb trees too much, and they are not very good at it, but young monitor lizards, not burdened with a lot of weight, climb trees very well. And they even love to spend time on curved trunks and branches. Such a powerful, dexterous and big beast there are no enemies in nature.

True, monitor lizards themselves are not averse to having lunch with a weaker relative. Especially during periods when food is hard, monitor lizards easily attack their smaller counterparts, grab them and shake them hard, breaking the spine. Large victims ( , ) sometimes fight very desperately for their lives, inflicting serious injuries on monitor lizards.

And since this one prefers big booty, then on the body of adult monitor lizards you can count more than one scar. But such invulnerability animals reach only by the adult period of life. And small monitor lizards can be prey for dogs, snakes, birds and other predators.

Feeding the Komodo dragon

The diet of the monitor lizard is varied. While the lizard is still in its infancy, it can even eat insects. But with the growth of an individual, its prey increases in weight. While the monitor lizard has not reached a weight of 10 kg, it feeds on small animals, sometimes climbing to the tops of trees after them.

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

Often, such a blow immediately breaks the legs of the unfortunate. But more often, the monitor lizard tries to bite the victim's tendons on the 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 abdomen. Not a particularly large animal, the monitor lizard eats whole (for example, a goat). If the victim did not immediately give up, the monitor lizard will overtake her anyway, guided by the smell of blood.

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

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 be compared in hunting qualities with this animal, disappear.

Reproduction and life expectancy of the Komodo dragon

Monitor lizards become sexually mature only at the 10th year of life. In addition, females out of all monitor lizards are only slightly more than 20%, so the struggle for them is serious. Only the strongest and healthiest individuals come to mate.

After mating, the female finds a place for laying, especially she is attracted to compost heaps, which are a natural incubator for eggs. Up to 20 eggs are laid there.

After 8 - 8, 5 months, cubs appear, which immediately move from the nest to tree branches in order to be away from dangerous relatives. There they spend the first 2 years of their life.

Interestingly, the female can lay eggs without the male. The organism of these lizards is so arranged that even with asexual reproduction, the eggs will be viable and normal cubs will hatch from them. Only they will be all male.

So nature took care of the case when monitor lizards end up on islands isolated from each other, where one female may not have relatives. How many years komodo dragons live in the wild, it was not possible to know for sure, it is believed that 50-60 years. Moreover, females live half as long. And in conditions of captivity, not a single monitor lizard has lived for more than 25 years.