The komodo dragon is one of the most famous lizards because of its considerable length; It is therefore the largest lizard in the world. Thanks to its public interest, the varaan is popular in zoos and shows up in documentaries because of its deviating way of life towards other lizards. This varaan is a very vulnerable species due to the small range and is therefore dependent on protection.

In addition to living prey, the komodo dragon also eats bait. Many of the cadavers eaten have been indirectly killed by the dragon. The komodo dragon is therefore considered a carnivore and an alpha predator, which is at the top of the ecosystem. Almost all lizards are eaten by different animals, but the komodo dragon has, once mature, no natural enemies.

this is komodo island for example

The Komodo dragon is not highly endangered, but has long been regarded as a vulnerable species. On the list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the monitor is classified as "vulnerable". This is mainly caused by the relatively small habitat and not primarily by human intervention. Poaching or catching animals for the trade in exotic animals is not a major threat in the case of the Komodo dragon although specimens are sometimes smuggled from the islands illegally.The Komodo dragon sometimes plays a role in films or stories, in which the animal is often portrayed as monstrous, as in the television film Komodo vs.. Cobra from 2005 and the cinema film Komodo from 1999. In both films a group of people is attacked by the lizard.

The food of the monitor depends on the length of the animal; young lizards mainly feed on insects such as grasshoppers, beetles and other arthropods; small vertebrates such as geckos, birds and mammals are also eaten, supplemented with eggs from different animals. As they grow larger, komodo dragon eat also larger prey such as wild boar, deer, water buffalo, snakes, horses, goats and birds. One of the main prey animals is the Javanese deer (Cervus timorensis). The dwarf elephant (Stegodon sompoensis), which is now extinct, was probably on the menu of the Komodo dragon.

 

Lizards are known to be very greedy because they can consume 80 percent of their own body weight in a single meal. Due to the high elasticity of the stomach and the large mouth and throat opening, large chunks of meat can also be worked inside. Moreover, the jaws are flexible (otherwise not as flexible as with snakes), so that prey can be eaten within a short time. A description is known of a 50 kg heavy female dragon that devoured a 31 kg heavy pig in a period of 17 minutes. Another observation concerns a specimen that took 20 minutes to get rid of a 41 kg weighing pig. [5] When eating, the chunks of meat are worked in with shocking movements, the head being raised, which is reminiscent of the eating behavior of crocodiles.