About Komodo Dragons
“The Komodo
dragon, as befits any creature evoking a mythological beast, has many names.
It is also the Komodo monitor, being a member of the monitor lizard family,
Varanidae, which today has one genus, Varanus. Residents of the island
of Komodo call it the ora. Among some on Komodo and the islands of Rinca and
Flores, it is buaya darat (land crocodile), a name that is descriptive but
inaccurate; monitors are not crocodilians. Others call it biawak raksasa
(giant monitor), which is quite correct; it ranks as the largest of the
monitor lizards, a necessary logical consequence of its standing as the
largest lizard of any kind now living on the earth…. Within the scientific
community, the dragon is Varanus komodoensis. And most everyone calls it
simply the Komodo.” Claudio Ciofi
The Komodo dragon
is an ancient species whose ancestors date back over 100 million years. The
varanid genus originated between 25 and 40 million years ago in Asia. The
Komodo descended from this species and evolved to its present form over four
million years ago.
The Komodo is long
lived (as are most of the larger reptilian species) with an estimated life
expectancy of over 50 years in the wild. In keeping with its longevity, the
Komodo matures late in life, becoming sexually viable at five to seven
years, and achieving maximum body density in fifteen years. Komodos
are sexually dimorphous, which means males are bigger than females. The
largest recorded specimen was 3.13 meters in length and was undoubtedly a
male. Females rarely exceed 2.5 meters in length. What is perhaps more
important, is that the characteristic bulk is achieved by older dominant
males in clearly delineated territorial areas. As an adult Komodo can
consume up to 80% of its body weight in one gorging, weight is a highly
variable factor, and is largely dependent on the most recent feeding. A
typical weight for an adult Komodo in the wild is 70 kilograms.
Komodo dragons are
first and foremost opportunistic carnivores, and predators second.
Although the Komodo can sprint briefly at 20 kilometers an hour, it
does not chase down game as do the larger mammalian predators. The Komodo is
a stealth predator, which lies motionless and camoflouged alongside game
trails for the unwary, which tend to be the very young, the old and the
infirm. In an attack, the Komodo lunges at its victim with blinding speed
and clasps it with the serrated teeth of the jaw. Prey are rarely downed in
the initial attack unless the neck is broken or caratoid artery severed. The
more likely outcome is escape, followed by death a few hours or days later
from septicemia introduced by the virulent strains of bacteria found in the
saliva of the Komodo dragon (the Komodo survive primarily on carrion and
ingest the bacteria when feeding).
The Komodo has two
highly developed sensory organs – the olefactory and the Jacobson’s
- which allow the dragon to detect rotting carcasses from distances as great
as 10 kilometers. The yellow forked tongue is
constantly being
flicked in and out of the mouth, “tasting the air”, and inserted into
the Jacobson’s organ located in the roof of the mouth. The individual tips
are highly sensitive and are capable of discriminating odors in the
magnitude of millionths of a part. Using the information garnered, the
dragon wends in a seemingly random, winding path which becomes straighter
the closer it approaches to the carrion. The Komodo is typically a communal
feeder and any number of dragons might arrive at the site of the carcass.
Socialization
occurs during feeding at carrion sites, as does mating. The abdomen is
slashed first and the intestines and stomach contents scattered. Young
juveniles roll in the fecal matter to mask their scent from aggressive
adults, which attack and sometimes kill juveniles during feeding. The
dominant male feeds until sated, followed by other dragons in order of size.
While the dominant male is gulping down hindquarters and ribcages, the
braver dragons chance foraging a few scraps. Virtually the entire carcass is
consumed in the process– head, fur, hooves and bones. After feeding, the
Komodos become quiescent and approachable while their digestive tracts are
converting the food into fat energy stored in the tail.
Between the months
of May and August, mating occurs at and around feeding sites. As males
outnumber females in a ratio of nearly four to one, the dominant male must
fend off other suitors before mating. Males will engage in slashing, biting
and bipedular rearing onto the tail, until the dominant male is acknowledged
by displays of subservience and the vanquished flees. The female is forced
into a prone position while the male tongue flicks her body, and in
particular, the fold between the torso and the rear leg close to the cloaca.
With Komodos, the male hemipenes are located here as are the female
genetalia. Once prone, the male mounts onto the back of the female and
inserts one of the two hemipenes into her cloaca , depending on which side
he is perched. The month of September is when a clutch of 15-30 eggs is
buried in a nest dug with the powerful claws of the female dragon. A typical
nesting site is in the composting vegetative mounds of the maleo birds which
are indigenous to Komodo.
The gestation
period for the eggs is eight to nine months. Hatchlings, which average 40
centimeters in length and weigh 100 grams, emerge from the nest in April and
immediately scramble up the nearest tree to avoid being eaten by the
adults. There are plenty of small lizards, insects and mammals in the
canopy after the brief rainy season in January and February to sustain the
juveniles until they descend to the forest floor roughly a year later. This
period of change between an arboreal and a terrestial habitat, when the
juveniles are a meter in length, is a time fraught with danger. The
juvenile Komodo is just too bulky to safely ascend many trees, and not big
enough to outrun a ravenous and determined adult. Cannibalism is a fact of
life for this species, and perhaps is an evolutionary response to the harsh,
arid climate of Komodo.
Prey species for
the dragon on Komodo island include deer, boar, wild buffalo, the maleo
bird, snakes, reptiles and small mammals. On Rinca, the monkeys and wild
horses found there are also constitute prey, as do the goats raised by the
local people. On the odd occasion people are also attacked by the Komodo
dragon. There have been eight recorded instances of attacks on humans since
Komodo has become a national park, almost all of which occurred on Rinca.
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Komodo National Park
Balai Taman Nasional Komodo
Labuanbajo, Flores NTT Indonesia
Tel: 62.358.41004, 41005
Fax: 62.385.41006
E-mail : tnkomodo@indosat.net.id
The official website of The Komodo National Park: www.komodonationalpark.org
Copyright ©1999-2002 The Komodo Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
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