Komodo dragons are the biggest and heaviest lizards in the world. They are also only one of a few with a poisonous bite.

 komodo dragons are powerful, frightening hunters. They have no predators, although other animals (and even adult Komodo dragons) will eat the babies. Still, the number of dragons left in the world is falling. There are only about 1400 dragons remaining. Their falling numbers are due to hunting by people and habitat loss. Luckily, in 1990, the Indonesian government began protecting Komodo dragons. It is hoped that this will save numbers from falling further.

poisonous - can cause death or illness

Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizards on Earth. They have powerful bodies with short, strong legs. Their tails are also powerful and are longer than their bodies. Their necks and jaws are powerful too. They can bite down on an animal and not let go. Their strong, sharp teeth and claws bite and tear meat easily. All this makes them formidable predators! 

Males are larger than females. They can reach 10 feet (3 metres) long and weigh more than 300 pounds (140 kg)! 

They are not very fast runners, although they can reach up to 13 mph (20 kmh) for a very short time. That's faster than a human, so don't get too close to one!

They have small eyes and very poor eyesight. They mostly hunt by smell. They pick up the scent of animals on their tongues. They can tell how far away an animal is and which direction it is too. Their smell is so good, they can smell dead animals up to 2.5 miles (4 km) away! They also have poisonous saliva! (See Diet)

They can open their mouths very wide and swallow huge pieces of meat. Their stomachs can also hold a large amount of food.

jaws - the mouth area

formidable - awesome, fearsome

poisonous - can cause death or illness

saliva - spit, the clean 'water' in your mouth

Komodo dragons can only be found on a few islands in Indonesia. They live in tropical forests and near water.

Komodo dragons are carnivores. They will eat any kind of animal, large or small. They will eat snakes, birds, lizards and insects. They will also hunt large animals such as deer or water buffalo. They will also eat dead animals they find.

They hide patiently in the bushes or grass and jump on their prey with their powerful legs. They bite the animal to kill it but if they don't the animal will likely die within several hours. The saliva of a dragon has a lot of bacteria which will slowly kill even a large animal. Their saliva also stops the blood from clotting so the animal will lose a lot of blood. Dragons follow a bitten animal and wait for it to die so they can eat it. Then, they pull the animal apart and eat almost the entire animal, even the bones and hooves!

They can eat up to 80% of their own weight in just one meal.

prey - animals caught as food

saliva - spit, the clean 'water' in your mouth

clotting - when the blood becomes thick and sticky to stop bleeding

hooves - the feet of animals such as horses or deer

Once a year, female Komodo dragons lay a clutch of 25-30 eggs  in a nest that they dig in the ground. Each egg is about the size of a grapefruit. The mothers look after the eggs for many months until they hatch. 

Baby dragons are greenish in colour, with yellow and black stripes. They become gray or reddish-brown as they get older. They are only 12 inces (30 cm long)

After they hatch, they immediately climb up into the trees to keep safe from predators. Other Komodo dragons - even their own mother - will eat them! Once they are about 8 months old, they are too heavy to live in the trees.

The babies eat insects, lizards and when they grow bigger, snakes, rats and bird eggs.

clutch - a group of eggs

hatch - open