The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world by both weight and length. This giant lizard grows to an amazing 10 feet (3.1 m) long and weighs from 150 to more than 300 pounds (135 kg). These reptiles are millions of years old and can be found on Komodo, Flores, Pintja and Pada, East of Java in Indonesia. They have large jagged teeth which they commonly use to eat prey as big as hog deer, pigs, other small deer, even water buffaloes. The komodo dragons have a strikingly sinister appearance. They have flat heads, a large muscular tail, big claws, tough-looking skin and a yellow flickering tongue.

They’re known for their patience as they lie in wait for their prey. They simply hide out in tall bushes, wait till the perfect meal comes along, and then they pounce upon it. The lizard’s bite is poisonous, full of bacteria, and deadly. Sometimes they merely have to bite a large prey once and wait around for the toxic bacteria bite to have its effect. Once the poison settles into the body, the prey is usually dead within 24 hours. Then the dragons begin tearing into its flesh. Once the smell of meat gets in the air, other dragons are sure to come looking and fighting for their share of the kill. The gluttonous lizards eat a good amount, as much as half their body weight, in a sitting. They will eat smaller prey too – lizards, snakes, rodents and even other komodos sometimes. That’s why the young ones spend most of their time in trees.

They can live to 40 years of age and run up to 11 mph (18 kph).