100 Great Wildlife Records Nepomniachtchi Nikolay Nikolayevich

THE LARGEST LIZARD IN THE WORLD - THE LIZARD FROM KOMODO ISLAND

The largest lizard, reaching 4 m in length and weighing 180 kg. It feeds mainly on carrion, but also attacks ungulates.

Unique national park Komodo is world famous, protected by UNESCO 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. Their main attraction is "dragons", giant monitor lizards, found nowhere else on the planet.

FROM THE HISTORY OF DISCOVERY

In 1912, one pilot made an emergency landing on Komodo, an island 30 km long and 20 km wide, located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores, which are part of the Sunda archipelago. Komodo is almost entirely covered with mountains and dense tropical vegetation, and its only inhabitants were exiles, once subjects of the Sumbawa Raja. The pilot told amazing things about his stay in this tiny exotic world: he saw there huge terrible dragons four meters long, which, as they claimed locals, devour pigs, goats and deer, and sometimes attack horses. Of course, no one believed a single word he said.

However, some time later Major P.-A. Owens, director of the Butensorg botanical garden, proved that these giant reptiles do exist. In December 1918, Owens, who had set himself the goal of discovering the secret of the Komodo monsters, wrote to the steward of Flores Island at civil affairs van Stein. The inhabitants of the island told that in the vicinity of Labuan Badio, as well as on the nearby island of Komodo, “buaya-darat”, that is, “earth crocodile”, lives.

Van Stein became interested in their message and was determined to find out as much as possible about this curious animal, and if he was lucky, then get one individual. When the affairs of the service brought him to Komodo, he received the information he was interested in from two local pearl divers - Kok and Aldegon. They both claimed that among the giant lizards there were instances of six or even seven meters in length, and one of them even boasted that he personally killed several of these lizards.

During his stay on Komodo, van Stein was not as lucky as his new acquaintances. Nevertheless, he managed to get a specimen 2 m 20 cm long, the skin and photograph of which he sent to Major Owens. IN cover letter he reported that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy: the natives were afraid, like death, of the teeth of these monsters, as well as the blows of their terrible tails.

Then the Butensorg Zoological Museum hastily sent him a Malay specialist in trapping animals to help him. However, van Stein was soon transferred to Timor, and he could not participate in the hunt for the mysterious dragon, which this time ended successfully. Raja Ritara put hunters and dogs at the disposal of the Malay, and he was fortunate enough to catch four "earth crocodiles" alive, two of which turned out to be quite good specimens: their length was a little less than three meters. And some time later, according to van Stein, some Sergeant Becker shot a four-meter-long specimen.

In these monsters, witnesses of past epochs, Owens easily recognized monitor lizards. large variety. He described this species in the Bulletin of the Butensorg Botanical Garden, calling it Varanus komodensis.

Later it turned out that this huge dragon is also found on the tiny islands of Ritya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. Finally, it became known that this animal was mentioned in the Bim archives dating back to about 1840.

Famous German hunter who killed a lot of lions, tigers and others in his life dangerous predators died on Komodo Island under unclear circumstances. He went to photograph a flock of monitor lizards and did not return. On the shore of the swamp, they found only his shoes and a warped movie camera.

It is possible that he was convinced in his own skin of the reliability of the existence of relic creatures.

Today, the Komodo dragon is kept in many zoos around the world, and everyone has the opportunity to be convinced of its incredible voracity, watching how it indulges in gluttony. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the name "komodo" means "island of rats", but today there is not a single rat left on the rat island ...

DRAGONS OF KOMODO ISLAND

In fact, dragons are fantastic creatures. There is no such animal in nature, however, this is the name given to the giant monitor lizards that live today on the Indonesian island of Komodo and some other small nearby islets. The local population calls them "ora". It is believed that on all the islands where they live, there are somewhere around 5,000 of them.

Of course, giant monitor lizards are of great interest to tourists visiting Indonesia. It's one thing to look at a cute little nimble lizard and quite another to look at a giant one. To see this miracle of nature, thousands of tourists specially come to Komodo National Park. Accompanied by guides, they can see the legendary dragons.

Komodo Island is located in the Lesser Sunda Islands, and to get to it, you need to swim across the treacherous Seip Strait. Tourists are not allowed to walk around the park on their own. The reason for such strictness is simple: you can be eaten. In addition, the places where you can meet the dragon are known only to the park rangers.

Dragons are not to be trifled with. Their reputation is disgusting: they are not tameable and do not distinguish between man and deer - both are simply food for them. True, they say that when they are alone, the caretakers treat them rather familiarly: they caress them and sometimes even ride on horseback.

Perhaps monitor lizards used to feed on pygmy elephants when they were still found here. Now the objects of their hunting are buffaloes, deer, wild goats and pigs, who settled on the islands in a later period. But the reptiles themselves are not threatened by anyone, except for humans, of course, and ... brothers. Yes, cannibal dragons.

Today, Komodo dragons are endangered. Until 1993, 280 dragons were killed by humans. During the same time, the dragons killed and injured 12 people.

Local residents living in houses on stilts sometimes get into the teeth of monitor lizards waiting below. You can die from a minor bite. The dragon's saliva is saturated with death poisonous species bacteria, and most animals bitten by dragons, even if they manage to escape, quickly die from blood poisoning.

All types of animals related to "dragons" have always attracted the attention of man. Therefore, it is not surprising that on Komodo, 700 km away from the island of Borneo, a kind of show with the participation of dragons is arranged once every two weeks, which is attended by thousands of thrill-seekers.

The main attraction of the park on Komodo Island is dragon feeding. To look at this, tourists are located on an observation deck located on an elevated place above dry river. Some consider monitor lizards to be ugly animals, but they are even beautiful in their own way. Their bumpy skin is somewhat reminiscent of chain mail. But the jaws of giant lizards are really terrible. They are filled with rows of sharp, serrated teeth between which a forked tongue glides.

The dragons slowly turn their heads, gazing at the curious bipeds with their unblinking black eyes. On days when the monitor lizards are not fed, their glances have such an effect on tourists that the number of people looking at them during feeding is significantly reduced. It gets kind of scary. Usually, in order not to injure curious sightseers, the goats are thrown to monitor lizards already killed. Clumsily crawling over each other, huge lizards rush to the carcass of a goat and fight for a piece of meat. There is no particular noise, except for the audible exhalations of reptiles, meaning a warning to the opponent: “Step back! It is mine!"

Monitor lizards are the only reptiles (except turtles) that, before eating their prey, tear it to pieces, holding it with powerful paws. Their teeth, 2 cm in size, are perfectly adapted for this purpose. Each tooth is like a curved scalpel with a dozen notches. Having sated, monitor lizards find a shadow for themselves and plunge into a drowsy state.

In the wild, usually living in isolation from each other, they sleep in thickets of bushes, under a tree, or dig holes for themselves. Adult animals have their own territories.

On short distances monitor lizards can run very fast, catching up even with deer. However, when pursuing prey, adults get tired quite quickly and are forced to stop. Therefore, they prefer to wait for her in ambush, lying in tall grass or in a bush. Having noticed the prey, monitor lizards sneak up to it as close as possible, after which a sharp throw follows.

But with the sunset, the monitor lizard is unrecognizable. He falls into this deep dream which is completely safe. At this time, you can touch it and even attach plastic tags to your fingers, measure body temperature.

Scientists say that it is almost impossible to distinguish between a female and a male. In general, information about the physiology and reproductive behavior of dragons is based only on assumptions. Scientists argued about their sex life for several decades, but it was not until 1986 that two Australian researchers finally solved this problem. They described in detail the process of courtship of a male for a female. United couples live together for a long time, but rarely - all their lives.

For a number of reasons, a tourist does not have the opportunity to observe the life of monitor lizards for a long time. The feeding of monitor lizards is the only thing he can see. Against such a spectacular event national park Komodo advocated by some scientists, believing that the feeding of monitor lizards by humans can eventually affect their behavior in nature. However, something needs to attract tourists, even if not all of them can withstand this spectacle.

Are monitor lizards smart animals? Some scientists are still inclined to answer this question in the affirmative. Once, one of the ministers who accompanied a group of tourists on a day when monitor lizards are not fed, bleated with a goat. The monitor lizards immediately fixed their unblinking gaze on the source of the sound. But when the caretaker tried the same way to get their attention the next time, he failed. The monitor lizards did not even turn their heads, realizing that it was not a goat screaming.

Komodo dragons have long proven that it is always better to be careful with them.

PAPUAN DRAGON AND MEGALANIA PRISCA

WITH late XIX centuries and still today, many eyewitnesses from the eastern, Papuan, part of New Guinea, as well as from New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, describe huge, dragon-like creatures with an elongated body and a long flat tail. They look like monitor lizards, but their length, according to stories, is about 8 m. For comparison, let's say that the dragon from Komodo Island, the largest of existing species lizards, rarely longer than 3 m.

For many years, zoologists did not believe in these messages, but in 1980 a scientific expedition led by John Blashford-Snell caught a live Papuan dragon, called the "artrellia". It was still a very young specimen, only 1.87 m long. But it turned out that it belongs to a species that is already known to science - Varanus salvadorii.

By that time, it was already known that this species could reach a greater length than the Komodo dragon: the largest specimen described was a male 4.75 m long, which was discovered by explorer Michael Pope.

But he was not as powerful and strong as the Komodo monitor lizard, and therefore the latter is still considered the largest lizard in the world. However, now that the existence of artrellia has turned out to be a reality, eyewitness reports of giant Papua dragons can be confirmed.

Since it is not known whether this species exists in Australia itself, some zoologists find the dragons allegedly seen here to be similar to the giant Australian lizard Megalania prisca, which is considered extinct. Can it still exist?

Before today resemblance between the mysterious Australian dragon and Megalania supported this notion, but today a study of the skeletal remains has revealed that Megalania most likely has a noticeable comb on its head. This feature was never mentioned by those who reported sightings of the giant lizard in Australia. Therefore, Megalania is still possibly a different kind of reptile.

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The largest lizard is considered to be komodo dragon. This view was discovered by scientists who, as early as 1912, decided to fully explore the island called Komodo. They were surprised by the size of this creature, so they began to study it. They captured the largest lizards of this species with the help of local natives, and conducted careful research to understand how these monsters were able to survive to this day.

Studies have shown that these monsters belong to the species of ancient lizards, and are cold-blooded creatures. By external factors, scientists attributed this species of lizard to monitor lizards. Considering exactly where these reptiles were found, it is quite understandable why they decided to call them the Komodo monitor lizard.

Lizard sizes

It should be noted that the Komodo dragon can reach quite impressive sizes. The most mature individuals reach a mark of 2.8 meters. At the same time, their maximum weight is about ninety kilograms. Thanks to these dimensions, the Kommodus monitor lizard is considered the largest and heaviest lizard on our entire planet. In the middle of 1937, at the exhibition unique creatures, which took place in Missouri, a specimen of a lizard was presented, which reached more than three meters in length. Her weight was one hundred and sixty-six kilograms, which simply could not help but amaze the gray-haired people.

Appearance of the Lizard

By appearance The Komodo dragon resembles a cross between a lizard and a crocodile. He has a rather large mouth, which is simply strewn sharp teeth. And thick paws and a massive tail really inspire fear in his rivals. In adult lizards, the skin has a dark color with a brown tint. And in younger individuals, the skin has a light shade with bright spots, which can sometimes smoothly turn into stripes.

It is worth noting that males can be larger than females, and they are also characterized by increased aggressiveness, which is very often shown in relation to other males who decide to enter their territory.

Lifestyle

Lizards are diurnal. Like other cold-blooded representatives of their kind, they love to soak up the sun. These huge reptiles live in burrows, the depth of which can sometimes reach five meters. They tear them out with their large paws and thick claws. They even feed on large animals such as deer and even buffaloes. From the bite of this lizard, the wound of the animal begins to rot, and subsequently it dies.

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. The young also perfectly climb trees, spending a lot of time there. Interestingly, they have no enemies, except that snakes and some birds of prey prey on young individuals.

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 hunt large prey from 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 apply for medical care Otherwise, 99% death is possible. 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.

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.

Historical 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 total 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 not a single potential victim can escape from them at short distances.

The 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 question requires the most scrutiny. 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 several thousand years ago the islands were inhabited 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.

Komodo monitor lizard (giant Indonesian monitor lizard, Komodo monitor lizard) ( Varanus komodoensis) is the largest in the world. The predatory reptile belongs to the order of scaly, the superfamily of monitor lizards, the family of monitor lizards, the genus of monitor lizards. The Komodo monitor lizard, which is also called the "dragon of Komodo Island", got its name from one of its habitats.

Seasoned and strong monitor lizards easily cope with more impressive prey: wild boars, buffaloes, and goats. Often, livestock gets into the teeth of adult Komodo monitor lizards, and those who came to water bodies to drink or accidentally met this dangerous lizard on the way.

Monitor lizard from Komodo Island is also dangerous for humans, there are known cases of these predators attacking people. If there is not enough food, large monitor lizards can attack smaller relatives. When eating food, the Komodo dragon can swallow very large pieces due to the movable connection of the bones of the lower jaw and a capacious stomach, which tends to stretch.

Komodo dragon hunting

The principle of hunting the Komodo monitor lizard is quite cruel. Sometimes a large predatory lizard attacks its prey from an ambush, suddenly knocking down its “future dinner” with a powerful and sharp blow of the tail. At the same time, the impact force is so great that often potential prey gets leg fractures. 12 out of 17 deer die on the spot in a fight with a lizard. However, sometimes the victim manages to escape, though she can get severe injuries in the form of torn tendons or lacerations in the abdomen or neck area, which leads to inevitable death. The poison of the monitor lizard and the bacteria that are contained in the saliva of the reptile weaken the victim. At big booty, for example, in a buffalo, death can occur only 3 weeks after a fight with a monitor lizard. Some sources indicate that the giant Komodo monitor lizard will catch up with its prey by the smell and traces of blood to the point of complete exhaustion. Some animals manage to escape and heal their wounds, other animals fall into the clutches of predators, and others die from wounds inflicted by monitor lizard. An excellent sense of smell allows the Komodo dragon to smell food and the smell of blood at a distance of up to 9.5 km. And when the victim still dies, monitor lizards run to the smell of carrion to eat the dead animal.

Komodo dragon venom

Previously, it was believed that the saliva of the Komodo monitor lizard contains only a harmful "cocktail" of pathogenic bacteria, to which the predatory lizard is immune. However, relatively recently, scientists have determined that the monitor lizard has a pair of poisonous glands located on the lower jaw and producing special toxic proteins that cause a bitten victim to reduce blood clotting, hypothermia, paralysis, lower blood pressure and loss of consciousness. The glands have a primitive structure: they do not have channels in the teeth, as, for example, in snakes, but open at the base of the teeth with ducts. Thus, the bite of a Komodo monitor lizard is poisonous.