What do komodo island monitor lizards eat? The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard. Enemies in the wild

Do you believe in the existence of dragons? If not, then by all means read our article. It might shake your confidence. After all, in fact, on the distant island of Komodo lives so big lizard that the locals confidently call her a dragon. And not only locals. The name Komodo dragon is scientific, it is also used by professionals.

You will learn about how the largest lizards in the world live from our material.

History reference

These giants were first discovered in 1912 on Komodo Island. It is easy to guess that the name of the big lizard is connected with this.

Since then, these creatures have been an object scientific research. Scientists have established that the history of the evolution of this species is associated with Australia. From a historical ancestor Varanus separated about 40 million years ago and emigrated to this remote mainland. For a while, the giants lived in Australia and nearby islands. Later, for various reasons, monitor lizards were pushed back to the islands of Indonesia, where they settled. Scientists suggest that this is due to changes in terrain and seismic activity. Komodo Island itself, by the way, is also of volcanic origin. It is worth noting that the relocation of bloodthirsty giants to the islands saved many representatives of the Australian fauna from complete extermination. The big lizard has mastered new territories and dominates there to this day.

Appearance

How big can a Komodo dragon be? It's hard to imagine, but the Komodo dragon lizard is comparable in size to a young crocodile.

Scientists took measurements in a sample of 12 individuals and described them external features. The studied monitor lizards reached a length of 2.25-2.6 meters, and their weight was 25-59 kilograms. But these figures are average. Several much more outstanding cases have been recorded and described. The length of some lizards reaches 3 or even more meters, and the largest known specimen weighed more than one and a half centners.

The skin of the monitor lizard is dark green, rough, often covered with small yellowish spots and leathery spikes. These animals have a powerful physique, strong short legs with sharp claws. Powerful jaws with large teeth at first glance give out a fierce predator in this beast. A long and mobile forked tongue completes the picture.

View Features

Despite its impressive size and apparent sluggishness, the dragon lizard is an excellent swimmer, runner and rock climber. Komodo monitor lizards are excellent tree climbers, they can even swim to a neighboring island, and on short distances no potential victim can escape from them.

komodo dragon is not only an excellent tactician, but also a brilliant strategist. If this predator has its eye on a prey that is too large, it can use more than just brute force. The monitor lizard knows how to wait, he is able to drag around a dying beast for weeks, anticipating the coming feast.

How dragons live today

The big lizard does not like the company of relatives and shuns them. Monitor lizards lead a solitary lifestyle, and contact their own kind only in mating season. These contacts are by no means limited to love pleasures. Males lead bloody battles among themselves, contesting the rights to females and territories.

These predators are diurnal, sleep at night, and hunt at dawn. Like other reptiles, Komodo monitor lizards are cold-blooded, they do not tolerate temperature extremes well. And from the scorching sun, they are forced to hide in the shade.

The birth of the dragon

Many Interesting Facts about lizards are related to the continuation of the species. After a bloody fight, which often ends in the death of one of the fighters, the winner gets the right to start a family. These animals do not form permanent families; in a year the ritual will be repeated.

The chosen one of the winner lays about two dozen eggs. She guards the clutch for about eight months to small predators or even the closest relatives did not steal the eggs. But from birth, dragon children are deprived of maternal caress. Having hatched, they find themselves alone with the harsh island reality and at first survive only thanks to the ability to hide.

Differences between monitor lizards of different sex and age

Sexual demorphism in these creatures is not too pronounced. Large sizes are inherent in dragons of both sexes, but males are somewhat larger and more massive than females.

The cub is born inconspicuous, which helps him hide from predators and hungry relatives. Growing up, a large lizard acquires a rich color. Juveniles have bright spots on bright green skin that fades with age.

Hunting

If you are attracted to interesting facts about lizards, this issue requires the most careful study. On the islands, no natural enemies, they can safely be called the top link of the food chain.

Monitor lizards prey on almost all of their neighbors. They even attack buffaloes. Archaeologists who have established that the islands were inhabited several millennia ago do not exclude that it was some species of large lizards related to the modern Komodo monitor lizard that caused their complete extermination.

Do not shun giant lizards and carrion. They gladly feast on underwater inhabitants thrown out by the sea or the corpses of land animals. Cannibalism is also common.

Modern giants lead a solitary life, but on the hunt they can spontaneously stray into bloodthirsty flocks. And where their powerful muscles, teeth and claws are powerless, they use more sophisticated weapons that deserve special attention.

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About the behavior of these amazing creatures known for a long time. Scientists have found that monitor lizards sometimes bite the victim, and then roam after it without showing aggression. The unfortunate animal has no chance, it weakens and slowly dies. It was once believed that the cause of the rapid spread of a deadly infection is the pathogenic microflora that settles in the oral cavity of monitor lizards while eating carrion.

But recent studies have proven that this creature has poisonous glands. The poison of the monitor lizard is not as strong as that of some snakes; it cannot instantly kill. The victim dies gradually.

By the way, here it is worth mentioning one more record. The Komodo dragon is not only the largest lizard in the world, but also the largest poisonous creature.

Danger to people

The status of a rare species and the mention in the Red Book raises the question of who is more dangerous to whom. Komodo dragons are a rare species hunting is prohibited.

But one cannot count on reciprocal pacifism. There are known cases of monitor lizard attacks on humans. If you do not go to the hospital in time, where the patient will receive complex treatment, neutralize the poison and administer an antibiotic, there is a high risk of death. Especially dangerous monitor lizards for children. They often encroach on human corpses, as a result of which it is customary on the island to protect the graves with concrete slabs.

In general, man and the largest lizard in the world coexist quite peacefully. Unique parks are organized on the islands of Komodo, Rincha, Gili Motang and Flores, where many tourists come every year to admire unusual and amazing reptiles.

Indonesian Komodo island interesting not only for its nature, but also for its animals: among tropical jungle this island live real " dragons»…

Such " the Dragon"reaches a length of 4-5 meters, its weight ranges from 150 to 200 kilograms. These are the largest individuals. The Indonesians themselves call the "dragon" " land crocodile».

komodo dragon is a diurnal animal, it does not hunt at night. The monitor lizard is omnivorous, it can easily eat a gecko, bird eggs, a snake, to catch a gaping bird. locals they say that the monitor lizard drags sheep, attacks buffalo and wild pigs. Cases are known when komodo dragon attacked a victim weighing up to 750 kilograms. In order to eat such a huge animal, the “dragon” bit through the tendons, thereby immobilizing the victim, and then shredded the unfortunate creature with its iron jaws. Once a monitor lizard swallowed a furiously squealing dog...


Here on Komodo island, nature dictates its own rules, dividing the year into dry and wet seasons. In the dry season, the monitor lizard has to adhere to the "fast", but in the rainy season, the "dragon" does not deny itself anything. komodo dragon does not tolerate heat well, his body does not have sweat glands. And if the temperature of the animal exceeds 42.7 degrees Celsius, the monitor lizard will die from heatstroke.


Long tongue endowed komodo dragon- This is a very important olfactory organ, like our nose. By sticking out its tongue, the monitor lizard picks up odors. The tactility of the monitor lizard's tongue is not inferior to the sensitivity of smell in dogs. Hungry "dragon" is able to track down the victim on a single trace left by the animal a few hours ago.

juveniles komodo dragon painted in dark grey. Orange-red stripes-rings are located throughout the body of the animal. With age, the color of the monitor lizard changes, " the Dragon» acquires an even dark color.

Young monitor lizards, up to a year old, are small: their length reaches one meter. By the end of the first year of life, the monitor lizard already begins to hunt. Kids train on chickens, rodents, frogs, grasshoppers, crabs and the most harmless - snails. The matured "dragon" begins to hunt larger prey: goats, horses, cows, sometimes people. The monitor lizard gets close to its prey and attacks with lightning speed. Then he knocks the animal to the ground and tries to stun it as quickly as possible. In the event of an attack on a person, the monitor lizard first bites off the legs, then tears the body apart.

adults komodo dragon they eat their prey in exactly the same way - spreading the victim to pieces. After the victim of the monitor lizard is killed, the "dragon" rips open the belly and within twenty-five minutes eats the insides of the animal. The monitor lizard eats meat in large pieces, swallowing it along with the bones. To quickly pass food, the monitor lizard constantly throws its head up.

Locals tell how one day, while eating a deer, a monitor lizard pushed the animal's leg down his throat until he felt that it was stuck. After that, the beast made a sound similar to a rumble and began to violently shake its head, while falling on its front paws. monitor lizard fought until the moment when the paw flew out of his mouth.


While eating an animal the Dragon stands on four outstretched legs. In the process of eating, you can see how the monitor lizard's stomach is filled and pulled to the ground. Having eaten, the monitor lizard goes into the shade of the trees to digest food in peace and quiet. If something is left of the victim, young monitor lizards are drawn to the carcass. During the hungry dry season, pangolins feed on their own fat. Average life expectancy komodo dragon is 40 years old.

Komodo dragons have long ceased to be a curiosity ... But one unresolved question remains: how did such interesting animals get to Komodo Island in our time?

The appearance of a huge lizard is shrouded in mystery. There is a version that the Komodo dragon is the progenitor of the modern crocodile. One thing is clear: the monitor lizard living on Komodo Island is the largest lizard in the world. Paleontologists put forward a version that about 5 - 10 million years ago, the ancestors Komodo lizard appeared in Australia. And this assumption is confirmed by one weighty fact: the bones of the only famous representative large reptiles have been found in Pleistocene and Pliocene deposits australia.


It is believed that after the volcanic islands formed and cooled down, the lizard settled on them, in particular on Komodo island. But here again the question arises: how did the lizard get to the island, located 500 miles from Australia? The answer has not yet been found, but to this day, fishermen are afraid to go sailing near Komodo islands. Let's think that the "dragon" was helped by the sea current. If the version put forward is correct, then what did the lizards eat all the time when there were no buffaloes, no deer, no horses, no cows and pigs on the island ... After all, cattle was brought to the islands by man much later than voracious lizards appeared on them.
Scientists say that in those days giant turtles, elephants, whose height reached one and a half meters, lived on the island. It turns out that the ancestors of modern Komodo lizards hunted elephants, however, dwarf ones.
Anyway, but komodo dragons are "living fossils".

The Australian giant monitor lizard is a reptile animal belonging to the order "Scaly" and joined the "Varanov" family.

This species of lizard, the largest ever lived in Australia, is the 3rd or 4th largest individual in the world fauna.

The upper part of the monitor lizard is painted in dark coffee color, the sides and back have black spots.

The belly is painted in a light cream color. To recognize a young individual from an old one, it is enough to look at its belly, a clear, pronounced pattern will be visible in a young monitor lizard, and in an old one it fades over time.

The head is elongated, in the mouth of the animal there are sharp teeth that are capable of tearing the flesh of prey. Paws are short, have sharp curved claws.

The body length of the animal, including the tail, is 2.6 meters, weight is about 25 kg. But this is rather an exception, since the length of the body in most adults does not exceed two meters. Local zoologists conducted a sample of animals to calculate the average weight and length of the reptile.

14 adults + total weight 5.1 kg + length 1.67 cm;

21 individuals + weight 2.05 kg + length 1.3 cm;

Based on these experiments, it can be concluded that the melon species of reptiles is inferior in size.

The animal leads an exclusively terrestrial way of life, lives in cracks and burrows in rocky terrain. Also, if he feels a threat to his life, he can quickly climb a tree trunk and end up on a branch.

Varan is almost impossible to meet in nature ordinary citizen continent, the animal is in every possible way a supporter of man and his dwelling. He has reasons for this. Previously, the natives hunted them. Some other desert tribes used the flesh of monitor lizards for medicinal purposes.

If the animal sees a person, it tries to immediately slip out of sight, if, nevertheless, he finds himself, then being hardy and physically prepared, he can run fast, developing a speed of more than 35 km / h. But that's not all, he can run not only on four limbs, but also on two, the speed does not change from this. It may well overtake a person who is not involved in athletics.

If a giant monitor lizard is overtaken by surprise, then it can provide decent resistance. He has a powerful enough tail, which is capable of breaking the bones of a large dog with one blow and knocking an adult man down.

The attack is accompanied by strong bites, and can also cause serious injuries with its powerful paws with sharply curved claws. The wounds inflicted can be fatal. Animals have a habit of often standing on their hind legs, leaning on their tail and watching what is happening in the aisles of visibility.

Monitor lizards are cold-blooded predators, so they can limit themselves in the amount of food they eat, which cannot be said about mammals that have similar anatomical similarities. The Australian monitor lizard can hunt from ambush and by chasing prey, its most common diet is as follows:

• Centipedes;
• Insects;
• Birds;
• snakes;
• rabbits;
• Kuzu;
• Rats;
• Including similar relatives;

Unfortunately, the diet of these animals is little known to mankind, but it is known for certain that an adult often eats vertebrates. Also, monitor lizards living on Barrow Island eat eggs and young green turtles or can catch Australian gulls.

Paradox

1. There are cases that monitor lizards attack large prey, such as; kangaroos, wombats and dingoes.
2. In another case, an animal died trying to swallow an adult echidna animal.

There is a suspicion that the body of the monitor lizard is immune from the bite of Australian snakes, but no one has conducted special experiments. The fact is that a giant monitor lizard hunts a snake called "mulga", and this has been noticed more than once.

Australian giant monitor lizard on a tree.

Reptiles do not disdain carrion, including eating relatives who are hit by cars. They are a kind of orderlies, they play very important role in the food chain wildlife of Australia.

Having outlined the victim, the monitor lizard attacks it with lightning speed. Clutching with strong jaws, it begins to shake the prey, breaking bones and turning the flesh into jelly. After that, he tries to swallow it whole. If it does not come out, thanks to its powerful neck, it tears the dead animal apart sharp teeth and strong paws, and swallows pieces of flesh.

From the habitats of a person and this reptile described above, it simply cannot harm a person. But history knows cases when a predatory animal attacked domestic dogs, cats and birds.

The mating season begins in January and lasts until the end of February. During the mating season, males fight fiercely against each other, inflicting deep, long-healing wounds on each other. The female Australian monitor lizard lays eggs measuring from 1.7 to 2.2 centimeters in length and weighing up to 70 - 85 grams, in a hole specially prepared for incubation.

Giant monitor lizard photo.

A clutch may contain 30 to 40 eggs. After all the procedures, she fills the hole. The incubation period is very long, approximately 10 to 12 months.

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Scientists conducted research on the presence of toxic poison in the oral cavity of the lizard and were very surprised. Prior to research, after being bitten by a monitor lizard, it was believed that the swelling and accompanying pain were the body's reaction to an infection from the animal's oral cavity. Based on the above material, it can be argued that the weakly toxic poison that the lizard is endowed with is to blame for everything.

On average, the Australian great monitor lizard lives no more than 35 years. But there have been cases that in captivity, he can live up to 50 years.

1. AT this moment monitor lizards are exterminated by poachers of some countries, for the sake of a valuable skin and tasty meat.
2. Some lizards are able to kill their victims with a slightly toxic poison.
3. More than thirty-five thousand species of lizards are known, which are depleted into twenty families.
4. The largest monitor lizard lived on earth in 1937, its length was more than 3.10 meters, and its weight was more than 167 kilograms.

komodo dragon(also called Komodo dragon, giant Indonesian monitor lizard) is the largest reptile in the world, as well as one of the most effective "killers" in the animal kingdom. These largest lizards is Australia, but the name was attached to them because of the island of Komodo, where they were probably first discovered, now about 1600 individuals live there. Also, these animals have been seen on nearby islands from Komodo Island. These Indonesian islands include: Gili Motang Island, Flores Island, Rinca Island. The total number of Komodo monitor lizards is approximately 5000 individuals.

Physical description of the Komodo dragon
Komodo dragons have long tails, strong and agile necks, and strong limbs. Adult Komodo dragons are almost stone in color. Growing monitor lizards may have brighter colors. Their tongues are yellow and forked, befitting their draconian name.

The muscles of the jaws and throat of the monitor lizard allow him to swallow huge pieces of meat with amazing speed. Several movable joints, such as the intramandibular loop, allow the mandible to be opened unusually wide. The stomach expands easily, allowing adults to consume up to 80 percent of their body weight in a single meal, which likely explains some of the exaggerated claims for the enormous weight of the ingested creature. When a Komodo dragon feels threatened, it may empty its stomach contents to reduce its weight and escape.

Although males tend to grow larger and more massive than females, there are no obvious morphological differences between the sexes. However, there is indeed one slight difference: a slight difference in weight distribution only in the anterior part of the cloaca. Mating Komodo dragons remains a problem for researchers, as the dragons themselves seem to have some trouble figuring out who is who.

Dimensions
The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard on Earth. Some recorded specimens reached a length of 3.13 meters (10.3 ft) and weighed 166 kg (366 lb). The largest wild Komodo monitors typically weigh around 70 kg (154 lb).

Habitat
The habitat of Komodo dragons is limited to a few Indonesian islands, the Lesser Sunda Islands, which include Rinca, Padar and Flores, and of course Komodo Island. They live in the forests of the tropical savannah, but are widely found on the islands, from the beach to the tops of the mountains.

Food habits
Their eyes can see objects as far away as 300 meters (985 feet), so vision does play an important role in their hunting, especially since their eyes are more focused on movement than on various stationary objects. Their retina contains only cones, so they are able to see colors but have poor vision in dim light. They have a much smaller auditory range than humans. As a result, the animal cannot hear sounds such as a low-pitched voice and a high-pitched screech.

Sight and hearing are useful, but for the Komodo dragon, smell is its main food detector. The lizard feels the same way as the snake does. He uses his long yellow forked tongue to sample the air, after which he sticks the two tips of the tongue into the roof of the mouth, where they come into contact with Jacobson's organ. Chemical "smell" analyzers recognize the molecules present in the air. If there is a higher concentration on the left side of the tongue tip than on the right side, the Komodo dragon knows that prey is approaching from the left. This system, along with a swaying gait where the head swings from side to side, helps the monitor to sense the presence and direction of scented carrion, up to 4 km (2.5 miles) away, when there is wind.

When the Komodo dragon hunts and catches its prey, such as deer, it attacks the legs first, throwing the deer off balance. When dealing with smaller prey, it can pounce right on the neck. The basic strategy of the monitor lizard is simple: try to lay the prey on the ground and tear it to pieces. Strong muscles and powerful claws help him in this, but the Komodo dragon's teeth are his most dangerous weapon. They are large, curved and jagged, and are capable of tearing flesh with high efficiency. If the deer cannot immediately escape, the Komodo dragon will continue to tear it apart. After making sure that its prey is incapacitated, the monitor lizard can stop its attack for a short rest. At this time, the deer will be seriously injured and in shock. Then the lizard delivers the final blow, an attack on the stomach. The deer quickly bleeds out and dies, the Komodo dragon begins to eat it.

Bits of meat, either fresh prey or carrion, are stuck in the notches of his teeth from the last meal. This protein-rich residue sustains life a large number bacteria. About 50 different bacterial strains have been found, at least seven of which are septic-like. If the victim somehow escapes and escapes his death upon first encounter, there is a chance that his escape will be short-lived. Infections transmitted by the bite of a Komodo monitor lizard will kill the victim in less than a week. In addition to bacteria in their saliva, researchers have recently documented that Komodo dragons do indeed have venom glands in their lower jaws. Apart from being harmed by the bacteria present in their saliva, their venom prevents the blood from clotting.

Video. How do Komodo dragons hunt?

The bite of a monitor lizard is not fatal to other Komodo dragons. It is believed that monitor lizards wounded by their comrades in battle are not affected by deadly bacteria and poison. Scientists are looking for antibodies in the blood of Komodo monitor lizards that could help keep an infected victim alive.

Large carnivorous mammals such as lions typically leave 25 to 30 percent of a carcass uneaten: gut contents, skinned skeleton and hooves. Komodo dragons eat much more efficiently, leaving only about 12 percent of the prey. They eat bones, hooves and even hide. They also eat the intestines, but only after they have vigorously torn them open to gut the contents.

Komodo dragons eat almost any kind of meat. They burrow through rotten carcasses and prey on animals ranging in size from small rodents to large buffaloes. Juveniles mainly feed on small lizards, geckos and insects. They are tertiary predators (predator at the top of the food chain) and cannibals. They can detect carrion from a considerable distance, about 4 km (2.5 mi), and actively search for it. When hunting, the Komodo dragon is near the trails, where it waits for a deer or wild boar to pass by. It then attacks the prey, most attempts fail, causing the animal to escape. However, if the monitor lizard manages to bite the prey, the toxic bacteria and venom in the saliva will kill the prey in the next few days. After the victim dies, it can take up to four days for the animal to find the dead body using its powerful sense of smell. As a rule, after the murder, many Komodo monitor lizards resort to a feast and very little remains of the carcass of the killed animal.

At the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Komodo dragons are fed weekly with rodents, chickens and rabbits. From time to time they get fish.

social structure
Since the large Komodo dragons eat the young, the young often spill out in their feces, thereby dampening the smells so that the larger monitors cannot smell them.

Reproduction and development
Most mating occurs from May to August. In a group gathered around carrion, there is an opportunity for courtship. Dominant males may be drawn into ritual fights in search of females. Using their tails for support, they wrestle in an upright position, grabbing each other with their front legs, with which they try to throw the opponent to the ground. Blood, as a rule, changes everything and the one who let it out either continues to fight, or remains submissive and motionless.

The female Komodo dragon lays about 30 eggs. Delaying styling can help avoid the dry season's brutal hot months. In addition, unfertilized eggs may be given a second chance at subsequent mating. The female lays her eggs in dug holes in mountain slopes or in the nests of bigfoots, chicken-like birds that make nests of earth mixed with twigs that can be up to 1 meter (3 ft) high and 3 meters (10 ft) wide. During the maturation of eggs (about nine months), females can lie on the nests, protecting their future offspring. There is no evidence, but the parents of the hatched Komodo monitor lizards do not participate in their care in any way.

Cubs weigh less than 100 g (3.5 oz) and average 40 centimeters (16 in) in length. Their first years are full of danger and they often fall prey to predators, including their fellows. They feed on a varied diet of insects, small lizards, snakes and birds. If they reach the age of five, they can weigh 25 kg (55 lb) and be up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) long. By this time they are moving on to larger prey such as rodents, monkeys, goats, wild boars and the most popular food of Komodo monitor lizards, deer. Slow growth continues throughout their life, which can last over 30 years.

Rest habits
They escape the heat during the day and seek shelter at night in burrows that are slightly larger than they are.

Lifespan
AT wild nature Komodo dragons live for about 30 years, but scientists are still studying this.

The study that established how the Komodo dragon kills its prey

Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia have found that the secret to predatory success lies in its amazing poison.

Until now, it was believed that the bite of the Komodo monster is contagious due to some bacteria contained in its mouth. Due to the lightning-fast microbial attack spreading throughout the body of the victim, the bitten animal soon died and the monitor lizard could only wait and find the victim by its smell. Having waited for the death of the animal or the moment when it was greatly weakened and could not defend itself, the monitor lizard proceeded to the meal.

But Brian Fry and his team disproved this hypothesis, discovering venom glands in the animal's skull causing severe paralysis in those bitten by the reptile. After studying the poison, scientists found that it dilates blood vessels and prevents blood from clotting, causing the victim to "shock". The bite of the Komodo monster is much weaker than that of a crocodile, but their prey soon dies due to blood loss caused by a deadly powerful poison that prevents blood from clotting.

Fry also studied the fossils of an extinct giant monitor lizard known as Megalania (Varanus prisca) to find out if this species had venom glands. Their results, published in March 2009 in the American journal PNAS (Eng. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), showed that this lizard, reaching a length of seven meters, was one of the largest poisonous animals, that existed on earth.

Photo portrait of Komodo dragon

Mouth of Komodo dragon

Varan next to his victim

Latest famous cases Komodo dragon attacks on humans
In 2007, an eight-year-old boy was killed by a Komodo dragon, the first reported fatal attack in 30 years. The attack happened in March during the dry season, so keepers speculate that the lizard may have been especially hungry given that the pools have dried up and the prey that gathers there has stopped coming to them. The boy was attacked by a Komodo dragon as he went into the bushes to urinate, local media reported.

The boy's uncle came running and started throwing stones at the lizard until it released his nephew. Anyway, the boy died from heavy bleeding from his torso, his uncle described that the boy had two bites.

In 2008, three Britons, Kathleen Mitchinson, Charlotte Allyn and James Manning, were forced to throw rocks to ward off Komodo dragons when they ran aground on the uninhabited island of Rinca in eastern Indonesia. They managed to induce fear in animals. But Anwar was not so lucky.

In 2008, a group of scuba divers on a boat, due to the strong Flores Current, were pushed far from their original dive point. After spending 10 hours spinning at high tide, around midnight the group made it to the beach, as it seemed to be desert island, about 25 miles from where they started ordeal. However, their troubles didn't end there. They ended up on Rinca Island, where it is estimated that there are about 1,300 Komodo monitor lizards.

The attacks began almost immediately. The merciless lizard repeatedly attacked the Swede, biting the diver's belt. She chewed on her belt while other divers threw rocks at her head. For two days and nights, the injured divers battled the monitor lizards and the tropical heat, scraping the preserved shellfish off the rocks and eating them raw. Finally, the Indonesian rescue crew spotted a spotted orange divers' emergency buoy placed on the rocks. Although the group of divers were shocked and recuperated at a local hospital on the island of Flores, they still celebrated their survival in a city bar.

In March 2009, police sergeant Cosmas Jalang reported that on Komodo Island, 31-year-old apple picker Muhamad Anwar received "terrible injuries". "He was working on a tree when he slipped and fell," Sergeant Jalang said. He was immobilized, lay on the ground for a short time, and then two monitor lizards attacked him. "They are opportunistic predators and he didn't stand a chance."

Miss Theresia Tava, who worked nearby and filmed the shock after seeing the attack, said: “He was bleeding all over his body. When he fell, scarcely a minute had passed before the monitor lizards were on him. They just bit and bit and bit, it was terrible. They bit his arms, torso, legs and neck.”

A speedboat took Anwar to the nearby island of Flores, but the doctors at the clinic on Flores Island were unable to save Anwar's life.

Attacks on humans by Komodo monitor lizards, which number fewer than 4,000 in the wild, are extremely rare, but keepers say the number of such incidents is similar last years increased.

In 2017, in Thailand, giant monitor lizards almost ate the body of a tourist. In late April, an investigation was launched into the death of 30-year-old Belgian tourist Elisa Dallemange, whose remains were discovered on Koh Tao on April 28. The police told the relatives of the deceased that she had committed suicide, but Eliza's family did not believe it.

The girl's body was so badly torn apart by giant monitor lizards (not Komodo monitors, giant monitors are the third largest after Komodo and striped monitors) that it could only be identified with the help of a dental examination. The girl's parents reported that recent months she often traveled the world, practiced meditation and studied yoga. AT last time(April 17), when the Belgian contacted her relatives via Skype a few days before her death, the girl was in high spirits, she said that she was very happy to exist in unity with nature on the "paradise island".

Her mother said: “Too many things show us that someone is involved. The police told us that Elise hanged herself in the jungle. I cannot accept that my daughter killed herself." Perhaps Eliza's parents' suspicions may make sense, since no suicide note was found near the girl's body. Journalists believe that the Thai police will not reveal the true cause of death of a foreigner, so as not to scare away tourists. From 2014 to 2017, seven people died on Koh Tao. All of them became victims of lizards, which can reach three meters in length. Their bite is toxic and often fatal.

Below is a case where a monitor lizard attacked a girl. It was not a Komodo monitor lizard, this emphasizes the fact that even a less intimidating monitor lizard is capable of inflicting wounds on a person.

Goanna grabbed the leg of an 8-year-old girl
On January 24, 2019, a young girl was rushed to the hospital after she was bitten by a huge goanna on a beach in Queensland. An eight-year-old girl was left with a 'frightening' gash on her leg after it took two people to free her from a lizard's jaws at a campsite on the island of South Stradbroke.

A photo. Snake catcher Tony Harrison with a goanna who attacked an 8-year-old girl

"It was a very disturbing incident," Queensland Ambulance Chief Inspector Janey Shearman told reporters. “While walking around the campsite, she was attacked by a goanna, which made a rather nasty cut. It was quite difficult to remove the goanna from the child, and it took a couple of people to remove it from the leg.

When the girl was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital to be treated for a gash in her leg, Shearman described the attack as "wild".

Experts say goanna bites can be dangerous because carnivores feed on carrion, and toxic bacteria in the mouth can cause the pain, swelling, and prolonged bleeding caused by the bites.

Below you can see a documentary film about the investigation of attacks by Komodo dragons on people called: "In the mouth of the dragon." The film investigates a case in which a Komodo monitor lizard attacked a boy named Mansoor on Komodo Island. It was only thanks to his uncle Jafar's quick reaction that the Komodo dragon abandoned its prey and disappeared from view, but the worst was yet to come. The boy died from blood loss in just 30 minutes. The film also mentions a case that happened in 1974 with the famous German hunter, Baron Rudolf von Reding, who was eaten by a Komodo dragon during a walk. And also there is a story of the head of the pier, Yvon Pariman, who was attacked by a monitor lizard when he lay down to rest on a bed with socks in his house (a Komodo dragon grabbed his leg with socks). Yvon was lucky, despite his wounds and fever, he survived.

Dragon from Komodo Island Varanus komodoensis), he is a Komodo monitor lizard, he is also a giant Indonesian monitor lizard - this is a lizard with the most impressive dimensions in the world.

flickr/Antoni Sesen

The average weight of the giant is 90 kg, and the body length, respectively, is 2.5 m, while the tail occupies almost half of the body. And the length of the most powerful specimen, the parameters of which were officially recorded, exceeded 3 meters and weighed 160 kg.

The appearance of the Komodo monitor lizard is the most interesting - either a lizard, or a dragon, or a dinosaur. And the island natives believe that most of all this creature looks like an alligator, and therefore they call it buaya darat, which in translation from the local dialect means a terrestrial crocodile. And although the Komodo dragon has only one head and does not spew sheaves of flame from its nostrils, there is undoubtedly something aggressive in the appearance of this reptile.

This impression is reinforced by the color of the monitor lizard - dark brown, with yellowish patches, and (especially!) appearance teeth - squeezed from the sides, with cutting, jagged edges. A cursory glance at this perfect arsenal, which is a “dragon” jaw, is enough to understand: jokes are bad with the Komodo dragon. With over 60 teeth and a jaw structure reminiscent of a shark's mouth, isn't this the perfect killing machine?

What is the diet of a giant reptile? No, no, monitor lizards have only superficial resemblance to vegetarian dinosaurs: the gastronomic preferences of the Komodo dragon are strikingly different from food preferences ancient ancestor. The tastes of the lizard are distinguished by an enviable variety: it does not disdain carrion and readily absorbs any living creature - from insects and birds to horses, buffaloes, deer and even its own brethren. Perhaps it is for this reason that newborn lizards, having barely hatched, immediately leave their mother, hiding from her in the dense canopy of trees?

Indeed, cannibalism is a quite common phenomenon among Komodo dragons: the lunch menu of adult monitor lizards often includes young relatives, smaller in size. A hungry monitor lizard can also pose a threat to humans, and it is not uncommon for prey to coincide in weight with the attacker. How do the lizards manage to prevail over the victim? big booty monitor lizards track down from an ambush, and at the moment of attack they either knock down the victim with a powerful blow of the tail, breaking its legs, or bite into the flesh of a wild boar or deer with their teeth, inflicting a deadly laceration.

The chances of survival in a wounded animal are scanty, because during a bite, dangerous bacteria from the oral cavity of the lizard, as well as poison from the poisonous glands of the lower jaw of the reptile. Inflammation develops at an accelerated pace, and the only thing left for the Komodo dragon is to wait until the victim completely loses his strength and cannot resist. He stubbornly follows the wounded prey, not losing sight of it. Sometimes such tracking lasts up to three weeks - after so much time, a buffalo bitten by a monitor lizard dies.

In the photo, I am a dragon and a slightly excited Lera :)

Those wishing to see such handsome men in natural environment habitation would have to go to the indonesian islands, since komodo dragons live there. However, daredevils who have conceived such a journey should be as careful as possible: monitor lizards have a keen sense of smell, and even a tiny drop of blood from a minor scratch on the body can attract a pangolin located at a distance of 5 km with its smell. Cases of attacks on tourists have taken place, so the rangers accompanying tourist groups are usually armed with long strong poles. Just in case.