We used to hear about the Komodo dragon in the Animal Science and Education Channel, and documentaries at that time, in order to show the audience the magic of this animal, they would always intentionally or unintentionally use such shots to make the Komodo dragon look very terrifying, like a cold-blooded killer in nature.
So much so that there are still many people who think that the Komodo dragon is a creature that dies when touched, and they deify it too much in their hearts. In fact, in nature, the Komodo dragon is not a top predator.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > Komodo monitor lizard</h1>
The biological classification of Komodo monitor lizards is the genus of reptiles with lepidosaurs, the largest surviving lizard, dating back 3.8 million years. The earliest fossils were found by paleontologist Scott in a cave in northeastern Australia, and the fossils are the ancestors of the present-day Komodo dragon.
At that time, the Komodo dragon in the biological chain equivalent to the current tiger, crocodile and other top predators, the sky upstream, the ground running almost all its dishes, and can swim and climb trees, no matter how difficult the environment, can catch prey.
Komodo dragon
habit
We often see Komodo dragons that are all dazed and motionless, but they are actually very lively by nature, especially during the day. Although it looks very similar to a crocodile, eating is also a situation where you are not hungry for a full month, but overall it is much more diligent than crocodiles. As long as there is enough food, Komodo dragons can leave home every day to hunt, as long as it is food that can be caught, no matter how big or small, it will go up and take a bite, and even try to eat its own kind.
When preying, it can have a short sprint speed of 20 km / h. When he is young, he will use his sharp claws to climb trees, and as he gets older, his claws become very strong and powerful, more suitable for attacking prey when hunting.
Tree climbing is also an innate skill of Komodo dragons, because Komodo dragons will prey on smaller counterparts and their offspring, so the little Komodo dragons will climb the trees on their own after birth and do not go to the ground until they are five years old. Therefore, people usually see you wandering monitor lizards, almost all of which are adult monitor lizards.
"Magnificent and powerful"
As an adult, the Komodo dragon, although very good at swimming, prefers to stay in hot, dry, open, grassy or low-shrubland low-lying places, so it often lives in vast grasslands, savannas and low-altitude tropical forests. They can also be found on beaches, mountaintops, and dry riverbeds. Nevertheless, the Komodo dragon will also go to the sea in order to prey, and its ability can even allow it to stay underwater for ten minutes and swim across the ocean.
Komodo monitor lizards are solitary, and we can see a lot of them coming together, basically during the breeding season or eating together when they smell food. They usually like to stay in the cave, measuring and digging holes with powerful front paws, so that they can save body temperature in the cave at night.
It's not "buddy good."
Komodo dragons like to stay in places that are usually hot at noon, so the monitor lizards are under the trees or in the back of the mountains where the cool sea breeze blows, and this time is when they are relatively mild, and people can go and look closely. The hunt, generally in the afternoon, the weather is slightly cool and the monitor lizard is full of spirit, so the rest place is selected to hunt with half the effort. It is not interfered with by its kind, and can be used as a stronghold to ambush large herbivores and is most favored by Komodo dragons.
The komodo dragon's feet are very powerful
Living environment
Komodo dragons 40 million years ago still belonged to the Asian monitor lizard genus, but due to evolution, migration to Australia, unique terrain, and lack of the same predators and natural enemies, Komodo dragons gradually became island giant. The ancient monitor lizard, which is about to become extinct, is one of the most obvious species of this evolution.
Fifteen million years ago, the Australian plate collided with the Southeast Asian plate, causing the monitor lizards to return to their former homeland, the Nicaea Archipelago in India, and thrived comfortably until the species expanded to the eastern part of East Timor Island, as biologists have summarized in the Queensland monitor lizard fossils. So, the Komodo dragon is different from the species that used to be in Australia.
The earliest fossil of a monitor lizard found so far
During the last ice age, sea levels rose and monitor lizards were trapped on islands isolated from the rest of the world, but survived well in biological competition until climate change led to partial extinction. Today, Komodo dragons are rare, with only 6,000, found only on four of Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands.
The four islands are Rinca Island, Motang Island, Flores Island, Komodo Island, and flores Island now has the largest number of 2,000. In the past, Komodo dragons were almost all over flores Island, but now they can survive only in small areas along the coast, and the Komodo monitor lizards on the former Padar Island are now almost extinct.
Flores Island
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="29" > why are monitor lizards mythologized? </h1>
Komodo dragons are also known as Komodo dragons. In the eyes of foreigners, dragons are evil dinosaurs, so komodo dragons are terrifying and ancient "mythical" beings in the eyes of people.
Why do Komodo dragons and dinosaurs be related? It's because of its frightening skin and shape. According to records, the longest Komodo dragon can reach 3.1 meters in length, although it is a case, but the average Komodo dragon will also grow to about 2 meters, weigh up to 300 pounds, look similar to a crocodile, but spit out a letter in the mouth.
As we all know, only snakes spit letters, and komodo dragons have a variety of bacteria and putrid saliva flowing from their mouths all year round, and their claws are thick and sharp, which seems to concentrate all kinds of frightening characteristics on the body.
Komodo dragon spitting out letters "You take the lizard by your appearance"
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > the true strength of the monitor lizard </h1>
Venom and teeth
What is the most critical point that Komodo dragons can kill their prey? It's the venom in its mouth. If the bitten animal is not treated in time, it will become their mouth food.
As early as the 80s of the last century, it was believed that Komodo dragons never cleaned their mouths because of long-term scavenging, so their mouths were full of deadly saliva, and when their prey was bitten, they would be infected and die. It seems that this statement is very reasonable, so people generally believe in this explanation, and people who do not know the facts still retain this view to this day.
And biochemist Brian Frye's latest research has made it clear why monitor lizards cause animals to die not because of saliva full of bacteria. He scanned the head of the Komodo dragon with an MPI and found that the Komodo dragon had two venom glands in its jaw, and the reason for the real death of the prey was actually the injection of venom through the teeth, which was similar to that of a venomous snake.
The Komodo dragon possesses two venom glands
On June 2, 2009, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper on monitor lizard saliva and venom, clarifying that monitor lizards hunt using skull structures and venom in poison sacs. In its mouth, there are more than 60 teeth, each of which is barb-shaped, contains serrations, is 2.5 cm long, and can easily tear apart the skin and flesh of animals.
The venom of the Komodo dragon is a blood-type toxin, which can make the wound of the bitten prey unable to heal, the blood cannot coagulate, the prey blood vessels are dilated, and the blood pressure of the heart is reduced, so it will cause muscle weakness, feel paralysis and then lose consciousness, and cannot support the bleeding to the ground and die.
Monitor lizard skull
A 1.6-meter-long Komodo dragon has 30ml of venom, which can incapacitate an animal weighing up to 40kg, and add three times the toxin to kill the animal, even if it is not poisoned, it will die of infection and bleeding.
saliva
meantime. The oral bacteria produced by the Komodo dragon scavenger can be poisoned, and there are more than 70 kinds of bacteria in the mouth, which can cause sepsis, tetanus, dysentery, plague and so on. According to the observation of the Komodo dragons usually lying on the ground, it will be found that the saliva they bleed out even has a corrosive effect. And these bacteria, after eating in the stomach, will be killed by the strong acid in their stomach.
Komodo dragons are called "walking bacteria reservoirs"
Therefore, when the Komodo dragon preys, it often uses a combination of venom, teeth and bacteria, and no matter how large the animal is, it is difficult to escape the clutches of the devil, and now the Komodo dragon is the largest existing poisonous animal.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > the disadvantages of the Komodo dragon </h1>
Although the Komodo dragon's venom is very powerful, we often see on TV that the Komodo dragon slowly follows the bitten prey, and the prey is like no one, as if the Komodo dragon is not harmful to itself. What is the reason for this scene from the scene where people initially imagined biting their prey and poisoning it, and then the prey gradually being paralyzed by venom, and the Komodo dragon began to feast.
In fact, Komodo dragons also want to hunt by a combination of injecting toxins and teeth, and they do. However, prey often escapes after being bitten, and the Komodo dragon is slow to move, so it looks like it deliberately did this to wear down the will of the prey and make eating easier, which is really wrong with them.
The dry food is not active, and there is a problem with the thinking
Komodo dragons are not good enough to control large prey, but Komodo dragons prefer to prey on large prey, which often appears in the mouth of the duck flying. But even if the animals travel thousands of meters, komodo dragon shinkos are still able to search the air for the smell of prey and easily find them. After the animal is bitten, it generally can't last for a few days, so the Komodo dragon will crawl to the food without hurrying.
In general, the Komodo dragon can eat about the same amount as itself, so large animals such as cattle and deer are the main targets of its hands. In the wild, cattle are not small in attack, but because herbivores are gentle by nature, after being bitten, if there is no next threat, it is often counted as such, which gives the monitor lizard an opportunity.
Komodo dragons that prey on cattle
Komodo dragons often use ambushes when preying, and when the buffalo is drinking water, it suddenly rushes out and takes a bite, and the buffalo is angry and panicked, and will flee. However, the size of the cow is really too large, so for a long time the buffalo were the same as usual, and there was no sign of poisoning.
All komodo dragons can do at this point is track the buffalo as quickly as possible, getting food before any other predator. Once such a focused thought arises, the Komodo dragon will keep on his way, and when he encounters food that comes to his mouth on the way, he will ignore it and only want to find the buffalo. The cow's physique is strong, and it often takes about half a month to poison, and the komodo dragon that is dusty and dusty has long been unable to hold back, and at the moment when the buffalo cannot support itself and falls to the ground, it will be full of food and drink.
Either in the work, or on the way to the dry rice
With a meal, Komodo dragons can eat most of the bodies of large buffaloes. Eat the rest, bury it in the ground, and dig it up to continue eating when you are hungry. According to the habits of the Komodo dragon, although it is full, it will hunt as long as it can move, so other animals on the island avoid it. Occasionally, Komodo dragons lie down for a few days to digest.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="61" > conclusion </h1>
Although the Komodo dragon is highly lethal, the slowness of movement and the lack of bite force make it impossible to compete with the top predators, and if it has to be compared, it will be the result of the fish dead net. However, the Komodo dragon can survive for so many years, and it does have its own means, but we have to look at it correctly.
"What do you see, don't mess with me"