The largest lizards in the world. The Komodo dragon is the largest predator lizard. Facts about reproduction

Lizards have lived on Earth for millions of years. They managed to successfully adapt to the changing living conditions on our planet and today this species of animal can be found in different parts Sveta.

The most big lizard lives on Komodo Island in Indonesia. This is a Komodo dragon, which has a length of 3 meters with a body weight of up to 160 kg. This species of lizard is of particular interest to scientists. Locals call it the Dragon of Komodo Island. He tops the ranking of the largest lizards.

1. Komodo dragon or Komodo dragon

Scientists discovered this species of lizard in 1912. It is believed that these giants used to live in Australia. Seismic activity and changes in topography prompted them to move to the islands of Indonesia. Adult monitor lizards grow up to 3 meters in length and can weigh up to 160 kg.

The average Komodo dragon is up to 2 meters long. The skin of these animals is dark and spotted. They have powerful paws, tail, jaws and sharp teeth.

These lizards are excellent swimmers, climb trees and run at a speed of 20 km per hour. Komodo dragons are terrible predators that have no enemies in nature. They hunt rodents, snakes, baby crocodiles, deer, wild boars, goats, buffaloes and even their relatives. These lizards do not disdain carrion and can tear out and eat the bodies of buried animals and people. Therefore, on Komodo Island, heavy slabs are placed on graves.

There have been cases of attacks by these giants on people, although this happens rarely. Danger awaits children and livestock, which often become the monitor lizard's lunch. The saliva of these “dragons” is toxic, so after being bitten the victim weakens and slowly dies.

Komodo dragons engage in bloody fights for females in mating season. She lays up to 20 eggs. The cubs are born small and can become prey for birds and snakes. The mother guards only the clutch. Then everything depends on the ability to hide, so the kids hide in the foliage.

The Komodo monitor lizard is listed in the Red Book. Hunting for this lizard is prohibited. But local residents compensate for the inconvenience of coexistence with this giant with income from the tourism business. Despite the dangers, tourists actively visit Komodo all year round.

This huge lizard lives in Australia. Its body length is up to 2.5 meters, with a weight of 25 kg.

Lives in inaccessible areas, feeds on snakes, birds and small mammals (wallabies, wombats). When trying to hunt it, it attacks a person. A blow from the tail can knock a man to the ground or cripple a dog.

3. Striped monitor lizard

The body length of this giant is up to 250 cm. Weight is up to 20 kg. The only thing heavier than it is the Komodo dragon. Distributed in Sumatra, Java, and mainland India.

This is a semi-aquatic lizard. She swims and dives well. Digs holes 10 meters deep and can climb trees. Eats fish, baby crocodiles, turtle eggs, otters and even mammals (monkeys).

Lives in New Guinea. Body length up to 2 meters, weight up to 10 kg. This is a tree lizard. Uses its tail for gripping when climbing tree branches, and often rises on its hind legs to navigate the terrain.

Hunts birds, snakes, kangaroos, and does not disdain carrion. It swallows small prey whole, and tears out pieces of meat from large prey. There have been cases of attacks on humans and livestock.

Reaches a body size of up to 175 cm. Weight up to 7.2 kg. Digs holes under tree roots or stones. It can live in a hollow and is an excellent tree climber.

Runs and jumps quickly. Lives in India and Pakistan. In the north of Pakistan it flows into hibernation. It feeds on rodents, snakes, eggs of birds, snakes and crocodiles.

Body length up to 125 cm. Weight up to 13 kg. Lives only on Galapagos Islands.

Digs holes for himself. It feeds on vegetation, picking up fallen fruits, flowers and sprouts of cacti (prickly pear).

Lives on the Galapagos Islands. Body length up to 140 cm. Weight up to 12 kg. It has a long tail, reaching halfway down the body. He spends most of his time at sea and can swim and dive perfectly.

On land it can be found on rocky shore, in swamps or mango thickets. Has an interesting pinkish skin color. Feeds on algae. It lays eggs on the shore in warm sand.

The body length of the sail lizard reaches 1 meter, and it has a leathery crest on its back. This lizard is omnivorous.

She eats fruits, flowers, leaves, insects and small mammals. The animal is not aggressive, so it often becomes prey for local hunters. The females lay their eggs in the sand on the shore.

The largest chameleons grow up to 60 cm in length. These lizards have long legs with toes adapted for grasping branches. The chameleon's curled tail also helps in this. These animals have small horns on their round heads.

The chameleon has unusual eyes that can look in different directions and increase the view of the area when hunting. This lizard can change skin color. Color changes depend on air temperature, fear, anger, hunger and other emotions.

The animals are widespread in Africa, India, Sri Lanka, America and Southern Europe. Chameleons have a long tongue with an insect sucker. They will also not refuse to eat fruits and young greens.

There are up to 5,000 species of lizards on Earth, and all of them are fascinating. After all, one cannot help but be surprised by the ability of these animals to autotomize, that is, in case of danger, to discard and grow their tail again. These creatures can change skin color to adapt to environment or disguise itself as a dried leaf. Vasilisk can run on water, and Moloch can absorb water in the desert with the entire skin of its body.

The long forked tongue helps lizards hunt. Their adaptability, strength and ability to survive can be the envy of many animals. The most large lizard, the Kamodo monitor lizard, is exceptional view, which may yet present many surprises to scientists.

Man has studied seemingly all living beings on the planet. But to this day, scientists find and describe new previously unstudied species of animals and plants. For example, the class Reptiles added a hundred new species in 2010. Among them there are both large lizards, for example, Varanus bitatawa, reaching 2 meters in length, and rather inconspicuous ones - Cyrtopodion golubevi with a body length of about 43−59 mm and a tail of 53−79 mm.

Reptiles are divided into 4 orders

Classification of reptiles

According to traditional scientific classification the class Reptiles (Reptiles) includes four modern units:

• Testudines - Turtles;
• Crocodilia - Crocodiles;
• Rhynchocephalia - Beaked heads;
• Squamata - Scaly.

The last order (Scaly) is divided into suborders. Among them:

• Serpentes - Snakes;
• Amphisbaenia - Amphisbaenia (two-walkers);
• Lacertilia - Lizards;
• Chamaeleonia - Chameleons.

There are many types of lizards

More than 9 thousand species of animals belonging to the class of Reptiles are known in the world. More than 6 thousand of them are species classified in the suborder Lizards, which include:

• infraorder monitor lizards (Varanoidea);
• infraorder spindle-shaped (Anguimorpha);
• infraorder gecko-like (Gekkota);
• infraorder iguana (Iguania);
• infraorder skinks (Scincomorpha).

Features and appearance

Some species of lizards have significant differences in appearance, habitat and habits, while others are difficult to distinguish from each other or even from representatives of other classes. Spindle lizards can be classified as snakes at first glance, and representatives of the vermiform family are similar in appearance to earthworms. However, most still have limbs, and their appearance leaves no doubt about their belonging to the suborder.

Interesting distinctive feature Many species of lizards discard part of their tail.

This phenomenon is called autotomy - the ability to independently discard any organ or limb. This usually happens in extreme unfavorable conditions, in case of threat to life or other danger.

Usually, the new tail is shorter than the old one

By contracting special muscles in certain areas, the tail vertebrae are broken and damaged blood vessels are compressed, thereby preventing bleeding. After a certain time, the tissues regenerate, and the discarded limb is restored. Most often, the regrown tail becomes slightly shorter than the discarded one.

Big and small

The smallest lizards in the world are the Haraguana sphero (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and the Virginia round-toed gecko (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion), living in the Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic. These animals weigh about 0.2 g, and their body length is 16-19 mm.

The Komodo dragon is considered the largest representative of the suborder in the world. This large lizard is also called the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, Komodo monitor lizard, Komodo dragon, and the natives of the Indonesian islands call it “ora” or “buaya darat”, which means “land crocodile”. Adult representatives of this species can reach three meters in length and weigh up to 90 kg.

These giant reptiles were first discovered in 1912 on the Indonesian island of Komodo. And to this day, their habitat occupies an impressive area there, although scientists have established that the ancestors of this species lived in Australia.

Varan has very powerful jaws

The Komodo dragon is an excellent swimmer, runner and even climber. Monitor lizards, while obtaining food or in search of a secluded place to rest and spend the night, can also climb trees. These huge lizards are diurnal, waking up at dawn and going out to hunt with the first rays of the sun. During the daytime they prefer to hide from the scorching sun in the shade.

Monitor lizards eat a variety of foods. Depending on its age, the Komodo dragon can hunt insects, fish, rodents, turtles, crabs and many other living creatures. Having reached a weight of 20 kilograms, adult individuals are able to hunt larger animals (wild boars, deer), and subsequently buffaloes, cattle, and horses. They can feed on carrion.

The Komodo dragon is not only helped to hunt huge size sharp teeth and powerful jaws with which they easily tear apart prey. It was recently discovered that the bite of Komodo dragons is poisonous. Previously, the danger of bites from these lizards was associated with pathogenic microflora in the mouth that entered the victim’s wound. The spreading infection gradually kills the victim, and the monitor lizards patiently pursue the animal and wait until the large prey is so exhausted by the disease that it cannot resist.

Scientists have now established that monitor lizards have a poison that gradually kills the victim. And these large reptiles are rightfully considered not only the largest lizards on Earth, but also the largest poisonous creatures.

Domestic lizards

Lizards are quite popular pets. The variety of species allows you to choose them for home care for every taste. Based on the desires and capabilities of the owner, they can be huge or small, herbivores or eat live food, capable of contact with humans or live in their own closed terrarium.

To keep a reptile you need certain knowledge

Names of the largest lizards for home keeping:

• Striped monitor lizard. One of largest representatives, in nature can reach a body length of 250-300 cm and weigh more than 20 kg.
• The Nile monitor lizard can weigh from 5 to 10 kilograms and have a body length of 150-170 cm. Females are smaller in size and, on average, weigh about 3 kg with a length of 135 cm.
• Common iguana. Quite a common type for home maintenance. They can grow up to 150 cm.
• Tegus are lizards measuring 1−1.4 m.
• Cape steppe monitor lizard. Adults of this species can be from 60 cm to 1.5 meters in length. Females are slightly smaller than males.

But representatives that are not so dangerous and do not grow to gigantic sizes are more popular for home keeping. For example:

• has dimensions from 50 to 60 cm;
• spotted leopard gecko with a body length of 25 to 30 cm;
• felsuma grows up to 30 cm;
• toki - a lizard with dimensions up to 35 cm;
• The blue-tongued skink can reach 60 cm in length, but in most cases the body length does not exceed 45 cm.

Keeping a reptile is not cheap

Pets must be provided with suitable food, and it is also necessary to create light and thermal conditions in the terrarium. The terrarium itself must be designed according to the characteristics of each species.

The decision to choose one of the representatives of the reptile class as a pet should be balanced. It is also worth assessing financial possibilities, since keeping a lizard, especially a large one, can be quite expensive. Caring for such a pet requires time to provide the animal with comfortable conditions existence. Representatives of many species are quite friendly and, with proper care, can be tamed to some extent by humans.

In this video you will learn more about lizards:

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 Hensbrouck, that there were no people living on the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. known to science giant creatures.

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".

Komodo dragons are one of the species potentially dangerous to humans, although they are less dangerous than crocodiles or sharks and do not pose a direct danger to adults.

According to local residents, some monsters reach seven meters in length, and three- and four-meter buaya darats are common. Curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at Botanical Park 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 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 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). 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.

First World War forced to stop research, and only 12 years later interest in the Komodo dragon resumed. Now the main researchers of the giant reptile are US zoologists. On English language 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.

RESERVED ISLANDS

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 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.

One bite is enough

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 sharp vision, 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.

In the photo m A young Komodo dragon near the carcass of an Asian water buffalo. The power of the jaws of monitor lizards is fantastic. Without effort, they open the victim's chest, cutting through the ribs like a huge can opener.

GAD BROTHERHOOD

From modern species Only the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor attack prey significantly larger than itself. 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 jaw can act like scissors, which makes it easier for them to dismember prey on the tree, where they spend most of their lives.

Venomous teeth - 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 flows 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 “ biological weapons» Komodo dragon.

Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell.

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.

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.

Who is next?

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.

The only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca sizes from 5 to 7 m and weight 650-700 kg

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 language, as a “great ancient vagabond,” 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 after its completion there will still be open known to people animals, although not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!

Komodo dragon(giant Indonesian monitor, Komodos monitor) ( 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, the teeth of adult Komodo dragons fall into the teeth of livestock, those who came to water bodies to drink, or those who accidentally met 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. U large production, for example, in a 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 a decrease in blood clotting, hypothermia, paralysis, and depression in the bitten victim. blood pressure and loss of consciousness. 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.

100 great records of wildlife Nepomnyashchiy Nikolai Nikolaevich

THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIZARD - THE KOMODO ISLAND LIZARD

The largest lizard, reaching 4 m in length and weighing 180 kg. It feeds mainly on carrion, but also attacks ungulates.

Unique national park Komodo is known throughout the world, is protected by UNESCO 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. Their main attraction is “dragons,” giant monitor lizards found nowhere else on the planet.

FROM THE HISTORY OF DISCOVERY

In 1912, a pilot made an emergency landing on Komodo, an island 30 km long and 20 km wide, located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores, part of the Sunda archipelago. Komodo is almost entirely covered with mountains and dense tropical vegetation, and its only inhabitants were exiles, once subjects of the Sumbawa Rajah. The pilot told amazing things about his stay in this tiny exotic world: he saw huge, terrible dragons there, four meters in length, which, as local residents claimed, devour pigs, goats and deer, and sometimes attack horses. Of course, no one believed a word he said.

However, some time later, Major P.-A. Owens, director of the Butensorg Botanical Garden, proved that these giant reptiles do exist. In December 1918, Owens, who set himself the goal of learning the secret of the Komodo monsters, wrote to the manager of the island of Flores for civil affairs, van Stein. Residents of the island told that in the vicinity of Labuan Badio, as well as on the nearby island of Komodo, there lives a “buaya-darat”, that is, an “earth crocodile”.

Van Stein became interested in their message and firmly decided to find out as much as possible about this curious animal, and if he was lucky, then get one individual. When his service brought him to Komodo, he received the information he was interested in from two local pearl fishers - Koka and Aldegon. They both claimed that among the giant lizards there were specimens six or even seven meters in length, and one of them even boasted that he had personally killed several of these lizards.

During his stay on Komodo, van Stein was not as lucky as his new acquaintances. Nevertheless, he managed to obtain a specimen 2 m 20 cm long, the skin and photograph of which he sent to Major Owens. In the accompanying letter, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy: the natives were afraid of the teeth of these monsters, as well as the blows of their terrible tails.

Then the Butensorg Zoological Museum hastily sent him a Malay specialist in animal capture to help. However, van Stein was soon transferred to Timor and was unable to participate in the hunt for the mysterious dragon, which this time ended successfully. Raja Ritara put hunters and dogs at the disposal of the Malay, and he was lucky enough to catch four “land crocodiles” alive, and two of them turned out to be quite good specimens: their length was a little less than three meters. And some time later, according to van Stein, some Sergeant Becker shot a four-meter-long specimen.

In these monsters, witnesses of bygone eras, Owens easily recognized monitor lizards of a large variety. He described this species in the Bulletin of the Butensorg Botanical Garden, calling it Varanus komodensis.

Later it turned out that this huge dragon is also found on the tiny islands of Ritya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. Finally, it became known that this beast was mentioned in the Bim archives dating back to around 1840.

Famous German hunter who killed many lions, tigers and others in his life dangerous predators, died on Komodo Island under unclear circumstances. He went to photograph a flock of monitor lizards and did not return. On the shore of the swamp, only his shoes and a mangled movie camera were found.

It is possible that he became convinced the hard way about the authenticity of the existence of relic creatures.

Today, the Komodo dragon is kept in many zoos around the world, and everyone has the opportunity to verify its incredible gluttony by watching how it indulges in gluttony. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the name "Komodo" means "island of rats", but today there is not a single rat left on rat island...

DRAGONS OF KOMODO ISLAND

Actually, dragons are fantastic creatures. There is no such animal in nature, however, this is the name given to the giant monitor lizards that live today on the Indonesian island of Komodo and some other small nearby islands. Local population calls them "ora". It is believed that there are somewhere around 5,000 of them on all the islands where they live.

Of course, giant monitor lizards cause huge interest among tourists visiting Indonesia. It’s one thing to look at a small, cute, nimble lizard and quite another to look at a giant one. Thousands of tourists specially come to Komodo National Park to see this miracle of nature. Accompanied by guides, they can see the legendary dragons.

Komodo Island is located in the Lesser Sunda Islands group, and to get to it, you need to swim across the treacherous Seip Strait. Tourists are prohibited from walking around the park on their own. The reason for this strictness is simple: you can be eaten. In addition, the places where you can meet the dragon are known only to park rangers.

Dragons are no joke. They have a disgusting reputation: they cannot be tamed and do not distinguish between humans and deer - both are just food for them. True, they say that in private the caretakers treat them quite familiarly: they caress them and sometimes even ride them on horseback.

Perhaps monitor lizards used to feed on dwarf elephants when they were still found here. Now the objects of their hunt are buffalo, deer, wild goats and pigs, which settled on the islands in a later period. But the reptiles themselves are not threatened by anyone, except humans, of course, and... brothers. Yes, dragons are cannibals.

Today, Komodo dragons are endangered. Until 1993, 280 dragons were killed by humans. During the same time, the dragons killed and wounded 12 people.

Local residents living in houses on stilts sometimes get caught in the teeth of monitor lizards waiting below. You can die from a minor bite. The dragon's saliva is deadly saturated poisonous species bacteria, and most of Animals bitten by dragons, even if they manage to escape, quickly die from blood poisoning.

All types of animals belonging to “dragons” have always attracted human attention. Therefore, it is not surprising that in Komodo, 700 km away from the island of Borneo, a kind of show with dragons is held every two weeks, which is attended by thousands of thrill-seekers.

The main attraction of the park on Komodo Island is feeding the dragons. To see this, tourists settle down on observation deck, located on a hill above a dry river. Some people consider monitor lizards to be ugly animals, but they are even beautiful in their own way. Their lumpy skin is somewhat reminiscent of chain mail. But the mouths of giant lizards are truly terrifying. They are filled with rows of sharp, jagged teeth, between which a forked tongue slides.

The dragons slowly turn their heads, looking at the curious bipeds with their unblinking black eyes. On days when monitor lizards are not fed, their gaze has such an effect on tourists that the number of people to look at them during feeding is significantly reduced. It's getting kind of scary. Usually, in order not to injure curious tourists, the goats are thrown to the monitor lizards already killed. Clumsily crawling over each other, huge lizards rush to the goat’s carcass and begin to fight for a piece of meat. There is no particular noise, except for the audible exhalation of reptiles, which means a warning to the opponent: “Move back! It is mine!"

Monitor lizards are the only reptiles (besides turtles) that, before eating their prey, tear it into pieces, holding it with their powerful paws. Their teeth, 2 cm in size, are perfectly adapted for this purpose. Each tooth looks like a curved scalpel with a dozen notches. Having had their fill, monitor lizards find shade and fall into a dormant state.

In the wild, they usually live isolated from each other; they sleep in bushes, under trees, or dig holes for themselves. Adult animals have their own territories.

At short distances, monitor lizards can run very quickly, even catching up with deer. However, when chasing prey, adult individuals quickly get tired and are forced to stop. Therefore, they prefer to wait for her in ambush, lying in tall grass or in the bush. Having noticed prey, monitor lizards creep up to it as close as possible, after which a sharp throw follows.

But once the sun sets, the monitor lizard is unrecognizable. He falls into such a deep sleep that he becomes completely safe. At this time, you can touch it and even attach plastic tags to your fingers and measure your body temperature.

Scientists say that it is almost impossible to distinguish between a female and a male. In general, information about the physiology and reproductive behavior of dragons is based only on assumptions. Scientists debated about their sex life for several decades, but it was only in 1986 that two Australian researchers finally solved this problem. They described in detail the process of courtship between a male and a female. United couples live together for a long time, but rarely their entire lives.

For a number of reasons, tourists do not have the opportunity to observe the life of monitor lizards for a long time. Monitor lizards feeding is the only thing he can see. Against such a spectacular event national park Some scientists advocate Komodo, believing that human feeding of monitor lizards may ultimately influence their behavior in the wild. However, something needs to attract tourists, even if not all of them can stand the spectacle.

Are monitor lizards smart animals? Some scientists are still inclined to answer this question positively. One day, one of the attendants accompanying a group of tourists on a day when monitor lizards are not fed bleated like a goat. The monitor lizards immediately fixed their unblinking gaze on the source of the sound. But when the caretaker tried to attract their attention in the same way the next time, he did not succeed. The monitor lizards did not even turn their heads, realizing that it was not a goat screaming.

Komodo dragons have long proven that it is always better to be more careful with them.

PAPUA DRAGON AND MEGALANIA PRISCA

WITH late XIX centuries and to this day, many eyewitnesses from the eastern, Papuan, part of New Guinea, as well as from New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, describe huge, dragon-like creatures with an oblong body and a long, flat tail. They look like monitor lizards, but their length, according to stories, is about 8 m. For comparison, let's say that the dragon from Komodo Island, the largest of existing species lizards, rarely longer than 3 m.

For many years, zoologists did not believe these reports, but in 1980, a scientific expedition led by John Blashford-Snell caught a living Papuan dragon, called “Artrellia”. It was still a very young specimen, only 1.87 m long. But it turned out that it belongs to a species that is already known to science - Varanus salvadorii.

By then it was already known that this species could reach greater lengths than the Komodo dragon: the largest specimen described was a 4.75 m long male discovered by researcher Michael Pope.

But he was not as powerful and strong as the Komodo dragon, and therefore the latter is still considered the largest lizard in the world. However, now that the existence of artrelia has turned out to be a reality, eyewitness reports of giant Papua dragons may be confirmed.

Since it is unknown whether this species exists in Australia itself, some zoologists have found similarities between the dragons allegedly seen here and the giant Australian lizard Megalania prisca, which is believed to be extinct. Could it still exist?

Before today external resemblance between the mysterious Australian dragon and Megalania supported this idea, but today a study of the skeletal remains reveals that Megalania most likely has a noticeable crest on its head. This feature was never mentioned by those who reported encounters with giant lizard in Australia. Therefore, Megalania may still be a different species of reptile.

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