5 Fast Facts About Komodo Dragons
Test your dragon knowledge.
- They can consume about 80 percent of their body weight in just one sitting and can swallow whole prey the size of a medium pig.
- The dragon boasts an estimated 60 different strains of bacteria in its mouth that infect prey after its bite. Venom also adds to the Komodo dragon’s deadly bite cocktail.
- The Komodo dragon is the world’s largest living lizard species. It can top out at nearly 10 feet long and averages 150 pounds.
- Female Komodo dragons don’t necessarily need to breed with a male to lay a healthy clutch of eggs. Several captive female Komodo dragons have laid eggs and produced healthy offspring without mating with a male first. In the absence of a male, female Komodo dragons can develop an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell.
- The Komodo dragon is named after Komodo Island in Indonesia, one of the five islands where this monitor lizard can be found.
