The largest and heaviest living lizard in the world

Komodo dragons are huge, heavily-built monitor lizards - the largest lizards in the world, growing to an average length of 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) and weighing around 70 kilograms (150 lb). The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) that inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia.

Komodo dragon once thought to be a mere legend but eventually confirmed to be real. Today, Komodo dragon "mythological beast" is so well known that we couldn't imagine a zoo without them. Komodo dragons were first documented by Europeans in 1910, when rumors of a "land crocodile" reached Lieutenant van Steyn van Hensbroek of the Dutch colonial administration.[Widespread notoriety came after 1912, when Peter Ouwens, the director of the Zoological Museum at Bogor,Java, published a paper on the topic after receiving a photo and a skin from the lieutenant, as well as two other specimens from a collector.

Later, in 1926, a much publicized expedition to Komodo resulted in the capture of two live specimens; this expedition inspired one of the most famous movies of all times, King Kong, which was also about prehistoric animals found in a remote island.

A myth about Komodo dragons is that they lack venom, and that their victims die of blood poisoning thanks to the deadly bacteria in the dragon's mouth. Although it is true that dragons have plenty of dangerous bacteria on their saliva, recent studies have suggested that they are also able to produce powerful, hemorrhage and paralysis-inducing venom, making them the largest venomous animals alive. Komodo dragons are quite smart and can recognize different humans. They also play with toys like humans and (for the most part) behave tamely when in captivity. The most amazing (and badass) characteristic of the komodo dragon is that the female can lay eggs that hatch without being fertilized by a male (this is called parthenogenesis).


The largest accurately recorded specimen was 3.1m long and weighed 166kg. Komodos use deadly saliva containing toxic bacteria as part of their armoury. The bacteria multiply rapidly in a bite wound and lead to blood poisoning and gangrene in the victim. This energy efficient predation keeps the Komodo dragons at the top of the predator tree in their island home.