The largest lizards. What are the names of the largest and smallest lizards. What does Komodo dragon eat?

He moves 4 times faster than a human, from the start developing a speed of 18 km / h. And this is with a three-meter body and tail - not in vain komodo dragon bears the status of the largest lizard in the world.

Reptiles do not need to eat regularly to survive - once a month is enough for this. She sees her victim for 300 meters. Hunting does not particularly exhaust itself - there is no prey on the horizon, it will ruin human burials.

Ora crocodile

The Komodo monitor lizard is a reptile from the squamous order. He received the status of the largest lizard in the world for his huge size:

• length - 2.5-3 m;
• weight - 100-150 kg.

Scientists discovered the reptile on Komodo Island only in 1912. A few years before this locals more than once they said that they saw a dragon. They called him "ora" and "ground crocodile".

Appearance

Male monitor lizards are 1.5 times larger than females - the sex of reptiles can be identified only by this feature.

Lizards have long flattened heads, muzzles are elongated and rounded. The eyes are large, located on both sides of the head. The auricles are large, but monitor lizards have imperfect hearing - they cannot identify a low voice.

The jaws and throat of the largest lizard are so flexible that it swallows huge chunks of meat in a split second. The movable lower jaw and stomach expand so much that the adult swallows the pig completely. This feature explains the impressive weight of the reptiles.

But there is another feature - the monitor lizard will easily burp the contents of the stomach as soon as it senses danger. He will decrease in size and weight and hide from his pursuers.

The legs of the reptiles are half-bent - because of this, the bulky carcass seems to be pressed to the ground. Their claws are sharp, as befits predators. The large teeth are bent so as to dig deep into the victim and tear it to pieces.

The body of an adult monitor lizard is covered with bone chain mail - it gives the reptiles a resemblance to stones. In the younger generation of lizards, the color is brighter - green, blue, orange.

Food

The giant lizard is a predator, respectively, it feeds on the meat of its victims. She dominates, attacking any animals and does not disdain carrion. Their diet contains:

• pigs;
• deer;
• lizards;
• buffaloes.

Juveniles feed on insects and snakes, sometimes catching birds.

Hunting

Reptiles determine prey long before the start of the hunt, sniffing the air and analyzing the smells in it. To do this, nature has endowed predators with a forked tongue, with which they taste the air and feel the taste of an animal or carrion, their location.

Future prey at this time can be at a distance of up to 4 km from the monitor lizard - it will catch its smell and direction if the wind is fair.

Patience is one of the virtues of the heaviest lizard in the world. She lies in wait for prey for hours, sometimes for days. As soon as the animal is nearby, the reptile attacks it, interrupts its paws with its powerful tail.

The victim is doomed - an attempt to escape leads to the fact that a huge camouflage carcass will tear him apart until he goes limp. After that, the monitor lizard will exhale and open the belly of the prey to drain the blood. Only then will he begin to swallow the meat.

Toxicity

Single victims manage to escape, but they do not live long. There are more than 50 types of bacteria in the saliva of reptiles, and the jaw glands are poisonous. When a giant lizard attacks a pig or other artiodactyls, a secret is released into its saliva. The protein in the composition of the secret is toxic - it paralyzes muscles, disrupts blood clotting, and sharply reduces pressure and body temperature.

The animal suffers from several hours to several days, depending on immunity and the degree of blood infection, and then dies. Varan all this time runs in the wake of his sense of smell for the victim. As soon as she dies, he consumes the carrion. Not even a tenth of the carcass remains - the stomach of reptiles is designed in such a way that it easily digests bones and skin.

reproduction

The mating season for the largest lizards begins in May and ends in August. Two males can fight for a female - she goes to the winner. After mating games the female lays up to 30 eggs, while the male guards the territory.

Monitor lizards are born weighing about 100 g and no more than 40 cm long. For the first 4 years they live on trees, fleeing from predators. Their parents may be among the latter, because there is no evidence that adult reptiles take care of their offspring.

The young individual, sensing danger, makes himself tasteless to the lizards. To do this, she collapses in her own feces - known fact that monitor lizards avoid their excrement.

Where do they live?

Reptiles live on Komodo and 4 neighboring islands. They are comfortable in hardwood and tropical forests, and reptiles do not tolerate heat. At temperatures above +36 degrees, they hide in burrows. In burrows, they warm themselves if the temperature drops below + 33-34 degrees.

Giant lizards avoid meeting people, and people are forbidden to hunt them, because exotic reptiles are under state protection.

In December 1910, to the Dutch administration on the island of Java from the manager of the island of Flores (according to civil affairs) Stein van Hensbroek received information that the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago are not known to science giant creatures.

Van Stein's report stated that in the vicinity of Labuan Badi of Flores Island, as well as on the nearby island of Komodo, an animal lives, which the local natives call "buaya-darat", which means "earthen crocodile".

Komodo dragons are one of the species potentially dangerous to humans, although they are less dangerous than crocodiles or sharks and do not pose a direct danger to adults.

According to local residents, the length of some monsters reaches seven meters, and three- and four-meter buya-darats are common. The curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at the Botanical Park of West Java Province, Peter Owen, immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition to get a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Her skin and photographs were sent by Hensbroek to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this was not easy to do, since the natives were terribly afraid of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the Zoological Museum sent an animal trapping specialist to Flores. As a result, the employees of the Zoological Museum managed to get four specimens of "earth crocodiles", two of which were almost three meters long.

In 1912, Peter Owens published an article in the Bulletin of the Botanical Garden about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming an animal previously unknown to the spider. komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). Later it turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Ritya and Padar, lying west of Flores. A careful study of the archives of the Sultanate showed that this animal was mentioned in the archives dating back to 1840.

First World War forced to stop research, and only after 12 years, interest in the Komodo monitor resumed. Now, US zoologists have become the main researchers of the giant reptile. On the English language this reptile became known as komodo dragon (comodo dragon). For the first time, a live specimen was caught by the expedition of Douglas Barden in 1926. In addition to two live specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed animals to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum. natural history in New York.

RESERVED ISLANDS

Indonesian national park Komodo (Komodo National Park), protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs with an area of ​​more than 170 thousand hectares.
The islands of Komodo and Rinca are the largest in the reserve. Of course, the main celebrity of the park is Komodo dragons. However, many tourists come here to see the unique terrestrial and underwater flora and fauna of Komodo. There are about 100 species of fish here. There are about 260 species of reef corals and 70 species of sponges in the sea.
The national park is also home to such animals as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, Javan macaque.

It was Barden who established the true size of these animals and refuted the myth of seven-meter giants. It turned out that males rarely exceed the length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is not more than two meters.

One bite is enough

Years of research have made it possible to study well the habits and lifestyle of giant reptiles. It turned out that Komodo dragons, like other cold-blooded animals, are active only from 6 to 10 am and from 3 to 5 pm. They prefer dry, well-sun areas, and are generally associated with arid plains, savannahs, and tropical dry forests.

In the hot season (May-October), they often stick to dry riverbeds with jungle-covered banks. Young animals can climb well and spend a lot of time in trees, where they find food, and in addition, they hide from their own adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on smaller relatives. As shelters from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Hollow trees often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

Komodo dragons, despite their size and outward clumsiness, are good runners. At short distances, reptiles can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers, and at long distances, their speed is 10 km / h. To get food from a height (for example, on a tree), monitor lizards can stand on their hind legs, using their tail as a support. Reptiles have good hearing sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is the sense of smell. These reptiles are able to smell carrion or blood at a distance of even 11 kilometers.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. About 1000 live on Komodo and Rincha, and on the smallest islands of the Gili Motang and Nusa Kode groups, only 100 individuals each.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually shrinking. They say that the decline in the number of wild ungulates on the islands due to poaching is to blame, so monitor lizards are forced to switch to smaller food.

In the photo m A young Komodo dragon on the carcass of an Asian water buffalo. The power of the jaws of monitor lizards is fantastic. Without effort they open chest victims, cutting through the ribs like a huge can opener.

GAD BROTHERHOOD

From modern species prey much larger than itself is attacked only by the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor lizard. The crocodile monitor lizard has very long and almost straight teeth. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful feeding by birds (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, which makes it easier for them to dismember prey in the tree, where they spend most of their lives.

Yadozuby - poisonous lizards. Today, two species are known - gila monster and escorpion. They live mainly in the southwestern United States and Mexico in rocky foothills, semi-deserts and deserts. The most active poisonous teeth are in the spring, when their favorite food appears - bird eggs. They also feed on insects, small lizards and snakes. The poison is produced by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands and through the ducts enters the teeth of the lower jaw. When bitten, the teeth of the gila teeth - long and curved back - almost half a centimeter enter the body of the victim.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They eat almost everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-tossed fish, rodents. And although monitor lizards are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and often large animals become their prey: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and feral goats, and even the largest ungulates of these islands - Asian water buffaloes.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but rather steal it and grab it when it comes close by itself.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very reasonable tactics. Adult monitor lizards, leaving the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, from time to time they stop and crouch to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. wild boars, they can knock down deer with a blow of their tail, but more often they use their teeth - inflicting a single bite on the animal's leg. This is where success lies. After all, now the course is launched " biological weapons» Komodo dragon.

Reptiles have good hearing, sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is the sense of smell.

For a long time it was believed that the victim was eventually killed by disease-causing organisms in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the "deadly cocktail" of pathogenic bacteria and viruses in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

The Komodo dragon has two venom glands in its lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. These proteins, when released into the body of the victim, prevent blood clotting, lower blood pressure, contribute to muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. Everything in general leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo monitor lizards is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located in the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in poisonous teeth, as in snakes.

AT oral cavity poison and saliva mix with decaying food, forming a mixture in which many different deadly bacteria multiply. But this did not surprise scientists, but the poison delivery system. It turned out to be the most complex of all such systems in reptiles. Instead of injecting with a single blow with their teeth, like poisonous snakes, monitor lizards have to literally rub it into the victim's wound, making jerks with their jaws. This evolutionary invention helped giant monitor lizards exist for thousands of years.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow the victim all the time. The wound does not heal, the animal becomes weaker every day. After two weeks, even such a large animal as a buffalo has no strength left, its legs buckle and it falls. For the monitor lizard, it's time for a feast. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at her. At the smell of blood, his relatives come running. In places of feeding, fights often arise between equal males. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

Who is next?

For people, a huge head covered like a shell, with unkind, unblinking eyes, a toothy gaping mouth, from which a forked tongue protrudes, all the time in motion, a bumpy and folded body of a dark brown color on strong spread legs with long claws and a massive tail is a living embodiment of the image of extinct monsters of distant eras. One can only be amazed at how such creatures could survive today practically unchanged.

The only one famous representative large reptiles - Megalania prisca sizes from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption fits well with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg was found on this continent. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin as “the great ancient tramp”, preferred, like the Komodo monitor lizard, to settle in grassy savannahs and sparse forests, where he hunted mammals, including very large ones, such as diprodonts, various reptiles and birds. These were the largest poisonous creatures that ever existed on Earth.

Fortunately, these animals died out, but the Komodo dragon took their place, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to forgotten by time islands to see vivo the last representatives of the ancient world.

There are 17,504 islands in Indonesia, although these numbers are not final. The Indonesian government has set itself difficult task- to carry out a complete audit of all the Indonesian islands without exception. And who knows, maybe at the end of it there will still be open known to people animals, although not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!

As of 2014, there are 5907 species of lizards on the planet. Below is a list of the ten most unusual lizards in the world that differ from their relatives in their original appearance or behavior.

The fantastic leaf-tailed gecko, also known as the satanic gecko, is a species of gecko that lives on the trunks and branches of trees in tropical rainforests only on the Madagascar islands. Adults reach a length of 9-14 cm and weigh from 10 to 30 grams. Lead night image life by hunting insects. These amazing animals are endowed with the ability to mimic - merge with the bark of trees, dry leaves, etc. Due to deforestation, they are endangered. They can often be found in terrariums around the world.

Moloch, also known as " thorny devil"- a species of rather unusual lizards, widespread in deserts and semi-deserts in western and central Australia. body length adult does not exceed 20 cm, with a weight of 50 to 100 g. Active during the day. It feeds exclusively on ants, usually small species. During the day, the "thorny devil" is able to eat several thousand ants, which it catches with a sticky tongue.

Lobe-tailed geckos

Lobe-tailed geckos or flying geckos are a genus of geckos with 7 species. They live in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Nicobar Islands (India), as well as on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. They love tropical wooded area. Most They spend their lives in trees, which they move very quickly. They live in hollows. Active at night. They feed on insects and small invertebrates. The total length of their body is 20–23 cm. Characteristic features of these geckos is the ability to jump up to 60 m from one tree to another.

Philippine sail lizard

In seventh place in the list of the most unusual lizards in the world is the Philippine sailing lizard, which is found only in the Philippines. These lizards are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, flowers, insects and small mammals. They prefer to settle in moist forests near water, rivers, rice fields, etc. Adults can grow up to one meter long. They are excellent swimmers.

The common conolophus is a species of large lizard from the iguana family. They live in earthen burrows dug by them only in the Galapagos archipelago, on the islands of San Salvador, Santa Cruz, Isabela and Fernandina. Their body length reaches 125 cm, weight 13 kg. They feed exclusively on plants growing on the ground, sometimes on fallen fruits. 80% of their diet is sprouts and flowers of prickly pear (a plant from the Cactus family).

marine iguana- an unusual lizard that lives exclusively on Galapagos Islands. Found predominantly on rocky shores, salt marshes and mangroves. The marine iguana is not very skilled on land, however, it swims and dives well. It can hold its breath for 1 hour, and also has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to spend most of its time in the sea. It feeds mainly on algae, sometimes on small vertebrates. The total length of their body reaches 140 cm, of which more than half is occupied by the tail, weight up to 12 kg.

The Komodo dragon is the most large lizard in the world, found in arid plains, savannahs and dry tropical forests only on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinka, Flores and Jili Motang. Their body length reaches 3–4 m, weight is about 70–100 kg. They are considered excellent hunters who are able to reach speeds of up to 20 km / h for short distances. They swim well and climb trees. They feed on a wide variety of animals. Their diet includes crabs, fish, sea ​​turtles, lizards, snakes, birds, baby crocodiles, rodents, deer, wild boars, dogs, cats, goats, buffaloes, horses and even relatives. Possess venomous bite and are considered among the most cold-blooded, sadistic killers in the animal world. In adult Komodo dragons, wild nature natural enemies no, except for humans and possibly combed crocodiles.

Flying dragon (Draco volans)

The flying dragon is a species of unusual lizard, common in Indonesia on the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Timor, as well as in West Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippine Islands (Palawan), Singapore and Vietnam. The length of their body reaches about 20 cm. On its sides there are wide leathery folds stretched between six "false" ribs. When they open, a kind of "wings" are formed, with the help of which dragons can plan in the air at a distance of up to 60 meters. They live on the crowns of trees in tropical forests, where they spend a significant part of their lives. They descend to the ground only in two cases - for laying eggs and if the flight failed. They feed on insects, mainly ants and termites.

The Lesser Belttail is a species of lizard found in the rocky, desert areas of southern Africa. The length of their body ranges from 15 to 21 cm. On the head and back there are hard bone plates like a shell. Feeds on insects and small invertebrates. Lives in groups of up to 60 individuals, hiding in gorges and crevices. In danger, they are able to twist into a ring, grabbing their tail with their mouths. It is considered one of the most prickly animals in the world.

The most unusual lizard in the world is the Frilled Lizard, which lives in dry forests and forest-steppes in northwestern Australia and southern New Guinea. Their body length reaches 80–90 cm, weight 0.5 kg. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates, mainly spiders and small reptiles. In case of danger, the lizard is able to suddenly open a brightly colored collar (and this movement is accompanied by the simultaneous opening of a wide mouth), which scares away many enemies, including snakes and dogs. An interesting feature frilled lizard is its ability to run on its hind legs, holding the body almost vertically.

Komodo or giant Indonesian monitor lizard is considered the largest lizard in the world. In some countries it is called a dragon, which, in general, is not a mistake.

The length of adults can be about 70 kg, but in captivity they can reach even large sizes. According to Western sources, the largest individual encountered in the wild weighed as much as 166 kilograms, and its length reached 313 centimeters! The color of the lizards is dark brown with speckles, but in young animals it is somewhat brighter.

You can meet this reptile on the following islands of Indonesia: Flores, Jili Motang, Komodo and Rincha. Total individuals is slightly more than 5000 copies. Scientists believe that this species once lived in Australia, but then moved to the nearest islands. It happened many thousands of years ago.

As a rule, monitor lizards are active only during the day, hiding in shelters at night. But even in the daytime, they prefer to be in the shade, hiding from the scorching sun. The animal lives in savannahs, dry tropical forests and arid plains. Swims well, willingly enters sea ​​water and even able to swim across to a neighboring island. Despite the seeming immobility, the dragon is capable of reaching speeds of up to 20 km / h, however, at short distances. In addition, it is able to get food from trees, standing on its hind legs. Juveniles, on the other hand, perfectly climb trees, spending a lot of time there. It is interesting that they have no enemies, except that snakes and some predator birds.

Monitor lizards can eat a wide variety of animals. So, they can eat both insects and rodents, as well as large animals, such as horses or buffaloes. At the same time, they have developed cannibalism, especially in times of famine. Adult monitor lizards usually prey on big booty from an ambush. Knocking her down, the reptile immediately bites its prey. As a rule, after this, the damaged animal gets up and leaves. However, after a while, he will still die, because the monitor lizard brought him poison and a lot of bacteria in the wound. After about three weeks, a bitten, say, buffalo dies of blood poisoning. The lizard feels the smell of carrion at a great distance and immediately runs to feed. Other representatives of this species also flock here, and fights often occur between them. By the way, adults feed mainly only on carrion.

The Komodo dragon is dangerous to humans because inflammation, sepsis, begins after a bite. Scientists have long believed that the problem is in the bacteria that are in the oral cavity of the animal. This is true and in total about 57 different strains of bacteria have been found. However, only a few years ago, experts found out that the dragon's mouth also has two poisonous glands, which are located in the lower part of the jaw. The venom itself contains toxic proteins that lower blood pressure, paralyze muscles, develop hypothermia, lead to a state of shock and cause unconsciousness in the bitten person.

In general, this type of monitor lizard is not so dangerous for humans, although attacks have been recorded far more than once. Apparently, the animal simply confuses people with its usual food. Since their bites are dangerous, you should immediately seek medical help, otherwise it is 99% possible fatal outcome. It is also worth noting that the lizard smells rot or blood at a distance of up to five kilometers, so if you have a wound, then it is better not to visit the island. This fully applies to women who have begun menstruation. And local residents suffer from reptiles, or rather those whom they buried - monitor lizards dig up buried corpses and feed on them. Now the dead are kept using dense cast cement slabs.

In prehistoric times, the Earth was inhabited by dinosaurs, foot-and-mouth disease and mammoths. Climate change and evolution led to their extinction, but more recently, scientists have discovered a monstrous lizard in distant Indonesia, which the locals call the dragon.

Amazing discovery

In 1912, a group of scientists who explored Komodo Island in pacific ocean, stumbled upon a marvelous monster resembling a lizard in appearance, only of enormous size. Having caught one specimen with the help of aboriginal hunters, they came to grips with the study of the "dragon".

The monster actually turned out to be a representative of cold-blooded reptiles. According to species characteristics, the reptile is assigned to the group of monitor lizards. According to the place of discovery, it was called the Komodo (Komodos) or Indonesian monitor lizard. Average length reptiles - 2.5-2.8 m, and weight - up to 90 kg. This is the longest lizard on the planet. It is one of the ten largest animals on the planet. In 1937, at an exhibition in the city of San Lewis in Missouri (USA), a record copy was presented with a length of more than 3 meters and a weight of 166 kg.

Appearance description

Komodo "monster" resembles a hybrid of a giant lizard and a crocodile. He has a developed jaw full of sharp teeth, short thick legs and a strong tail, which is equal to the length of the body. In adults, the color is dark brown with yellow speckles, while in young animals the skin has a brighter shade with light spots, sometimes turning into stripes.

Males are much larger than females, they are also stronger and more aggressive.

The largest lizard, due to its size, seems awkward, but this is a deceptive impression. On its short legs, it develops a speed of more than 20 km / h, jumping, easily rises on its hind legs, leaning on a powerful tail, and swims well for long distances. Young lizards deftly climb trees.

The giant is distinguished by vigilance, excellent hearing and an amazing sense of smell. The organs of smell are located on his forked tongue, and thanks to them, the Indonesian monitor lizard smells prey at a distance of 5 km! This is a kind of record in the animal world.

Studying the "dragons", scientists have determined their age potential at 50 years, although no one has yet met a monitor lizard older than 25 years.

Lifestyle

The most big lizard in the world leads a daytime lifestyle, and sleeps at night. Like any cold-blooded animal, it does not tolerate temperature changes, so it hides in the shade during the day, and hunts in the morning and evening. Chooses dry and sunny flat terrain or savannas. Lives in burrows up to 5 meters deep, and young foot-and-mouth disease prefer tree hollows.

These "ground crocodiles" are loners. Gathering of several individuals only in mating season or during the joint eating of carrion. At the same time, the hierarchy is clearly observed in the flock. Young strong males dominate, while old men, youth and females are pushed into the background.

In its habitats, foot-and-mouth disease is at the top of the food chain, so it has no enemies, except that very young individuals can be threatened by snakes or large birds of prey.

The victims of the Komodo reptile are such large animals as deer, buffalo, horses, wild boars, goats. On hungry days, it does not disdain small rodents, birds, frogs, crabs, fish, even insects. There are cases of cannibalism, when seasoned monitor lizards eat weaker relatives.

dangerous predator

How does the longest lizard hunt? Most often, she attacks from an ambush, with a strong blow tail knocks down the victim, breaking her legs, and inflicts a lacerated wound with her teeth. After that, he releases the prey. The animal dies on its own within a few hours or days from poison and blood poisoning, since the saliva of the largest reptile is teeming with toxic bacteria. In the process of research, scientists isolated 57 different strains in her oral cavity, including anthrax. Each of the bacteria in itself is very dangerous, and their bouquet, getting into the blood, leaves no chance for the victim. After being bitten by a Komodo monitor lizard, 99 cases out of 100 are fatal.

Giant foot-and-mouth disease, smelling the smell of rot and blood, come running to the feast. They feed mainly on carrion. Rarely do they tear apart live prey. These reptiles are able to tear off and swallow large pieces of meat, in which they are helped extremely sharp teeth, a powerful jaw and a stretching stomach-pouch.

Interestingly, the pus and infections of the deceased animal do not harm monitor lizards, which simply have incredible immunity. On the contrary, they only enrich the harmful microflora of their oral cavity.

Indonesian predators can also attack people. If within a couple of hours after the bite you do not get medical care, then death from sepsis is inevitable. Several cases of monitor lizard attacks on children have been documented. It is better for women not to visit the Indonesian islands during menstruation, as the smell of blood excites the hunting instinct in monitor lizards, which makes them very dangerous.

reproduction

Puberty in these reptiles comes very late - only at 9-10 years of age. In July-August, all sexually mature individuals gather together. Since there are 4 times more males in the population than females, mating is preceded by mating fights. The strongest wins, who gets the female.

After mating, she digs a deep hole, where she lays 20-25 eggs. The lizard protects the masonry for 8 months. But when the goannas hatch, she immediately leaves them. Cubs survive thanks to a strong natural instinct for self-preservation. They spend most of their time on trees, escaping from enemies, feeding on small animals and bird eggs.

Monitor lizards have such a feature as the ability to lay eggs without prior fertilization. At the same time, 100% male lizards hatch.

Dragons also need protection

Unique creations distributed over a very narrow area. They are found only on a few Indonesian islands - Komodo, Jili Motang, Flores, Rincha. A total of 5,000 of these giant lizards have been discovered. According to scientists, their numbers are slowly but steadily declining due to the development of the islands by people and poaching. To protect this unique look in 1980, Komodo National Park was created, where excursions are organized.

Animals are listed in the Red Book, hunting for them is prohibited. The law says that even if a reptile attacks a person - an adult or a child, it must not be killed! The "Dragon" must be scared away, after calling professional rangers who will find this monster and transport it to the other end of the island.

To control the population of Komodo monitor lizards, a special campaign was carried out, during which all found reptiles were implanted with a chip in their hind legs. So they were counted. Experts emphasize that the largest lizard in the world will survive only in natural environment, for which it is necessary to limit the resettlement of people on the islands.