Komodo Dragon

We went to the zoo. Africa did not. I decided that my new favorite creature was the Komodo Dragon. Am I crazy? Yes, but not as crazy as the world's largest lizard. Let me tell you why I find this species of a monitor so darn fascinating.

Their size:
They weigh around 150 pounds and are 6-9 ft in length.

Their diet:
This is where it gets crazy. You know the cute little lizards you find in pet shops munching on tiny bugs or lettuce? Not these guys. They eat mostly carrion (carcass of dead animal), but they will hunt and even ambush prey including their own kind! I was so intrigued that I came home and watched a movie about the Komodo dragons that said they are so smart that they are not only clever enough to hunt out their prey, but they are able to think ahead and memorize landmarks to efficiently get their dinner.

More amazing qualities:

• They taste and smell by flicking out their tongue frequently and swaying their head from side to side. They can detect carrion 2- 6 miles away.

• The Komodo dragon has this incredibly nasty saliva that has 57 different strains of bacteria in it. This saliva quickly turns into venom for it's prey if they are bitten and able to somehow get away. With their senses they will find the animals dead 3 days later from their toxic saliva.

• The Komodo dragon is able to run up to 12 miles per hour. They can even climb trees. A visual of this fat, long, lizard running and climbing is incredibly fascinating.

So here we have a really large dinosaur-like lizard that has large claws, toxic saliva, and a craving for rotting flesh. These facts alone make me very grateful to be a human female and not a female Komodo dragon. It is no wonder parthenogenesis can occur among this critter.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.