Komodo Dragon (varanus komodoensis)

Komodo Dragon... or varanus komodoensis!

Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizards. They can grow to be 9.8 feet long, and usually weigh around 150 pounds. A komodo dragon eats wild boar, deer, birds, and bird eggs. A komodo dragon will use its tail to knock down its prey, and then will attack the underside or the neck. A komodo dragon's bite is always fatal. The venom in its saliva sets in almost immediatley.  A komodo dragon can smell a dying or dead animal from 6 miles away. The dragons have been known to dig up recently dug graves and eat the corpses of the people in them.

Komodo dragon mating season occurs in between May and August, and the eggs are usually laid in September. The eggs hatch around April, and the young dragon comes out of the shell, about 1 foot long. Young dragons live in trees until they are four years old, because older dragons see baby dragons as lunch. Komodo dragons can be found on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang.