Of the currently existing lizards on Earth, the largest is the Komodo (Komodo) monitor lizard, also known as the giant Indonesian monitor lizard. Both names of the animal are closely related to its habitat in the wild.
Where do Komodos dragons live?
Huge lizards, which have already been dubbed Komodos dragons, are common on a number of Indonesian islands. Most of them live on Komodo - an island that is mentioned in the name of giant reptiles. There, the population of monitor lizards is about 1700 individuals. According to scientists, about 1300 animals live on Rincha Island. On the territory of the Indonesian island of Flores, about 2,000 giant monitor lizards have been recorded. A small number (about a hundred huge lizards) live on the island of Jili Motang.
According to the researchers, based on the results of many years of scientific work, Australia is most likely the birthplace of the Komodos monitor lizards. In all likelihood, it was there that this species could have formed about 900 thousand years ago, and only then the monitor lizards began to migrate to the nearby islands.
Giant lizards are active mainly during the daytime, but scientists have managed to record their nighttime activity.
Komodos dragons prefer to live in dry and well-warmed areas by the sun. They are also distributed on the territory of savannas and dry tropical forests. From May to October, while the heat is on, the lizards try not to move far from the rivers, periodically going to the coast to find carrion. Animals love to swim and are able to cover considerable distances, even reaching the neighboring islands.
What are they - the largest lizards in the world
The weight of adults can reach 70 kilograms - if the animals live in their natural environment. Scientists managed to fix a monitor lizard, the body length of which was 3, 13 meters. This reptile weighed more than 160 kilograms, including undigested food. Among the reptiles that live in captivity, there are specimens that reach even larger sizes.
The color in adult animals is dark brown, on the surface of the body there are small spots and specks of yellowish shades. In young monitor lizards, the color is brighter, and on the back you can often see reddish-yellowish spots arranged in rows. The strong muscular tail in monitor lizards is about half of the total length of the body. Animals use their tail as a support when they want to get food, which is located on an elevation.
Komodos monitor lizards, as a rule, prefer to live individually. In non-permanent groups, animals can be united only for the feeding period, as well as during the breeding season.
The diet of giant lizards is quite diverse - monitor lizards eat both vertebrates and invertebrates, orthoptera and crabs, fish and sea turtles, as well as snakes and lizards. Monitor lizards can catch birds and mice, and even deer and wild boars. There are cases when wild dogs, goats, buffaloes and horses became prey of monitor lizards.
