Komodo Dragons

Komodo Dragons

Adult Komodo dragons can usually weigh around (150lb) 70kg, although some can weigh much more. On average, a female adult weighs about 68km to 73km and measure about 2.29m (7.5ft). The male adult can weigh 79-91kg and measure around 2.59 meters (8.5ft). One of the largest ever measured was 3.04 meters (10ft) and the heaviest was a 81.5kg (180lb).

A Komodo dragon’s skin is extremely scaly.  They are completely covered by tiny bones called osteoderms, which function as a sort of natural protection.  The dragons have a tail as long as their body.  In their months they have about 60 serrated teeth can be measured up to 2.5 cm in length.  They have long, yellowish, forked tongued that can be seen if close up to a dragon.

The famous Komodo Dragon was first documented around 1910 by Europeans.  They got widespread notoriety after 1912 when the director of Zoological Museum of Bogor in Java published a paper about the Dragons.  The first two Komodo dragons to arrive in Europe were exhibited at the London Zoo at the Reptile house around 1927.  The movie King Kong (1933) was inspired by the Komodo Dragons as well. There are also 3 specimens that are stuffed and on display in the American Museum of Natural History.  Around 1950-60, the Dutch island administrations outlawed sport hunting and limited the number of dragon that could be taken for scientific research.

The Dragons prefer hot and dry areas and can be found around the beach, grassland, tropical forest, savanna, and mostly at low elevations.  They are solitary creatures but they can be found coming together for eating and breeding.  At first glance they can look like lazy and slow moving creature but they actually can run quite rabidly in brief sprints up to 20km/h (12 mph) and they can also dive down to 4.5 meters (15 ft).  If you are on a Komodo Island Tour and do trekking, if you look closely, you may find some smaller Komodo dragons up in trees.  They do this to stay out of reach of prey.  The dragons like to hunt in the afternoon but considering their environment can be very hot, they are found in more shady areas during the hottest part of the day.  If you take a Komodo Tour Package or Komodo Boat Tour, you may find that you see them right when you get off the boat.  Sometime they enjoy staying close to the beach for hunting and to enjoy the cooling temperature from the wind.   The Komodo find resting places which are also good places for attempting to ambush deer and wild boar.  If you are tracking the locations of the Komodos, you can find these areas by looking for dropping and vegetation that has been cleared.

Komodo dragons are apex predators and truly dominate the areas in which they live in.  They feed on animals such as birds, deer, invertebrates, and mammals. They have a venomous bite because there are two glands in the lower jaw they can secrete different toxic proteins.  They have been a few reports of the creature acutely attacking humans.  This is why it is imperative they you follow all the instructions from your Ranger when taking a Komodo Island Tour.

As far as Mating season, that happens between May and August.  In September the Komodo lays their eggs in an abandoned nest or self dug netting hole, also known as a megapode.  The incubations period for the eggs is about seven to eight months.  It take about 8 to 9 years for a Komodo to become fully grown.  We offer many different Komodo Tour Packages while visiting the National park.  If you have any questions or would like to book Komodo Day trip or Multi-day trip, please contact us and we can accommodate you group.

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