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Southeast Asia Travel Blog

By Michael Aquino, About.com Guide to Southeast Asia Travel

Komodo Dragon Fun Facts!

Monday November 10, 2008


Image © Getty Images.

Komodo dragons are pumped-up monitor lizards - the largest lizards in the world.

The Komodo dragon flicks is tongue in the air to catch its prey's scent.

While dragons have been known to grow to as long as 10 feet in length, the average Komodo dragon is six feet long.

Dragons are diurnal - they prefer to hunt in the daytime.

Dragons swallow their prey whole - check out this video of a dragon swallowing a pig. (This gives you some idea of its size!)

Dragons will settle for any meat, but looooove rotten meat. The bacteria from the carrion they consume live on in their mouths, so anybody who gets bitten by a dragon gets a serious infection too - if not promptly treated, they may die from the infected bite.

Most famous near-casualty of a Komodo dragon bite - Sharon Stone's then-husband, Phil Bronstein, who got bitten by a zoo-kept dragon and spent five days in hospital fighting the ensuing infection.

Komodo dragons are known to live on three islands in Indonesia - the Komodo National Park. Ideal visitors are brave but not foolhardy. This article - Komodo National Park, Indonesia - has more on the park and its famous residents.

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