For the first time since the 1950s, The Bronx Zoo is showing off the badass predator above—the Komodo dragon. The zoo now has three Komodos, two female and one male, in the new "Amazing Monitors" exhibit.
Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizard. The Wildlife Conservation Society says, "Fully grown, adult males can reach nine feet from nose to tail, and tip the scales at 360 pounds... At more than five feet in length, the [zoo's] dragons are adolescents and yet to meet their full size and potential."
Komodo dragons are native to the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Flores, Rinca, Padar, Gili Motang, and Nusa Kode. Their diet consists of large and small mammals including deer and buffalo, reptiles including smaller Komodo dragons, birds, eggs, and carrion. Efficient predators, they can consume up to 80 percent of their body weight in one feeding. The Komodo’s bite can inflict a serious wound on their prey which often results in a quick death. In addition, their saliva contains a toxic mix of bacteria and venom fractions. If the prey is bitten and escapes, it is likely to die within a few days from the bite. These huge lizards can track their dying prey with a highly developed sense of smell, flicking their tongues to pick up scents and track their quarry for distances of up to six miles.
Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and Director of the Bronx Zoo, said, "Komodo dragons are one of nature’s most amazing creatures. They are the top predator in the environment in which they live... By introducing visitors to Komodo dragons and the challenges they are facing in the wild, we hope people will take on an appreciation for this uniquely adapted species. Perhaps we will even inspire the career of the next great herpetologist or conservation scientist to work in Indonesia to help save the remaining wild dragons.”
Komodos are native to Indonesia and it's believed there are fewer than 2,500 Komodo dragons remaining in the wild, with possibly as few as 350 breeding females. The zoo hopes to add another male and eventually breed the dragons.
