Hello , I was ondering if anyone has or could give me anymore information about Komodo dragons .?

Question

I was reading abook about them and they said that they have been known to attack and kill Humans is that true .
In one incident a tourist that was sunbathing was attacked by a komodo dragon , all that they found was his sun glasses .
I assume that he would have been wearing a swimsuit or shorts. could a Komodo dragon eat all a human , and would it eat the clothing , if so could it digest it.

Answer 1

I'm sure it could digest it clothing as the dragon saliva is like an acid it uses to help digest its victims. They are also very large in size, especially a fully grown male.
I'm not sure though that the story is entirely true because knomodo dragons are native to an island in the South Pacific named Komodo Island. It is a very desolate place with no human inhabitants so I'm not sure what a tourist would be doing there sunbathing

Answer 2

Komodo is an island in Indonesia and is inhabited.

Komodo dragons are famous for their appetite for rotting meat. They claw and tear with their big mouth their dead vitim into pieces.

They can eat any size animal, even buffalo are hunted by them. They just bite and wait for the animal to die of the infection the bite causes... very nasty. They have over 15 strains of deadly bacteria in their saliva. Why they don't die of that themselves is a medical mystery.

Yes they have been known to eat a human or two. They have been known to dig up shalow graves.

Answer 3

Yes and yes but probably not all at once. Komodo dragons have an extremely toxic bit due to lots of nasty bacteria so all it would take is one bite from one in the middle of nowhere and u become dragon food for weeks to come.

Answer 4

In the wild, large adults tend to weigh around 70 kilograms (154 pounds).[7] Captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified wild specimen was 3.13 metres (10 feet 3 inches) long and weighed 166 kilograms (365 pounds), including undigested food.
The Dragon's diet is wide-ranging, and includes invertebrates, other reptiles (including smaller dragons), birds, bird eggs, small mammals, monkeys, wild boars, goats, deer, horses, and water buffalos. Young Komodos will eat insects, eggs, geckoes, and small mammals. Occasionally they have been known to consume humans and human corpses, digging up bodies from shallow graves to do so....The Komodo Dragon's loosely articulated jaws, flexible skull, and expandable stomach allows it to eat up to 80 percent of its body weight in one meal.
So if the man was a small one (aprx. 60 kilograms) that's possible, but there'll remain some bones.

Answer 5

yes but not eat they may eat small animals ck web lots of info
to me they are just a big as-ed lizard

Answer 6

Regulated Reptiles in New York State
As of March 15, 2005 New York State increased the list of banned species that private owners are allowed to possess without special permits. Listed below are the current list of regulated animals.

Snakes
All venomous species as determined by the DEC
Burmese Python (Python m. bivittatus)
Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)
African Rock Python (Python sabae)
Green Anaconda (Eunectes maurinus)
Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus)

Australian Amethystine Python (Morelia amethistina and Morelia kinghorni)

Indian Python (Python molurus)
Lizards
All venomous species as determined by the DEC
Asiatic (water) Monitor (Varanus salvator)
Nile Monitor (Varanus nilocitus)
White Throat Monitor (Varanus albigularis)
Black Throat Monitor (Varanus albigularis ionides)
Crocodile Monitor (Varanus salvadori)
Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodensis)
Crocodilians
All species
In addition to the above listed species, many species of native New York State herps and similar species require special permits to possess as well (e.g. box turtles of the genus Terrepene). This list consists of the animals considered "dangerous" by the New York State Legislature.

Anyone who owned any of these animals before January 1, 2005 can to apply for a "grandfather" license. You must have proof that the animal was purchased before January 1, 2005. The law allows DEC to charge up to $170 per animal every 2 years.

You will not be allowed to display them in public or teach with them without a reptile educator's license. At the moment there is no criteria established that will be used to decide who is a an educator that qualifies for this license. A four-hour course will need to be attended before you can qualify, but there is no information on who will teach it. We don't know how this law will affect animal educators from other states who enter the state to perform animal presentations.

For more information on how to obtain permits for these animals please contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the address below:

Special Licenses Unit
NYSDEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-4752
[phone]

The DEC is not actively searching for these banned animals. The last thing the overworked and understaffed DEC needs is another law to enforce, however law enforcement officers in New York State will be required to enforce the law if a complaint is filed. Complaints will most likely be filed as a result of a bite, a domestic dispute or a flagrant violation.

This information is to be used only as a guide. Please contact your local authorities or the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the latest and most accurate information.

These babies are illegal in most states because of loose ones getting into farms, houses, and killing live stock, cats, dogs, etc... I'm sure they would pass the clothing through, but not metabolize it for any purpose.

Answer 7

yes they do kill humans one wouldnt eat the meal by its self it would be shared as far as eating clothes i doubt they would

Answer 8

Scientific name: Varanus komodoensis
Common name: Ora, Komodo dragon, buaja darat (land crocodile)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Komodo dragons are the world's heaviest living lizards. They can grow to a length of 10 feet (over 3 meters), with an average length of 8 feet (2.5 meters) and weight of 200 lbs (91 kg.). Females are usually under 8 feet and weigh about 150 lbs. (68 kg.).

The Komodo dragon's keen sense of smell, if aided by favorable wind, enables it to seek out carrion up to 5 miles (8.5 kilometers) away. Despite its size, the Komodo is fast moving and agile. They can climb trees and like all monitor lizards they are good swimmers.
Their teeth are laterally compressed with serrated edges, resembling those of flesh-eating sharks. They have about 60 teeth that they replace frequently and are positioned to cut out chunks of its prey. The highly flexible skull allows it to swallow large pieces of its food. The Komodos mouth is full of virulent bacteria and even if its prey survives the original attack, it will die of infection later.

Young dragons up to 29 inches (.75 meters) live in trees and eat insects, birds, eggs, small mammals and other reptiles. They will descend from the tree for carrion.

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

The distribution of Komodo dragons is restricted to the Lesser Sunda Islands of Rinca, Komodo, Flores and the smaller islands of Gili, Montang and Padar. Padar does not have a permanent population. The total range is less than 1,000 sq. km. Komodo National Park makes up all islands except Flores.

The natural habitat of Komodo dragons is extremely harsh by human standards. These arid volcanic islands have steep slopes and little available water most of the year. A short monsoon season often produces local flooding. The average annual temperature at sea level on Komodo island is 80F. degrees. Dragons are most abundant in the lower arid forest and savanna.

Outsiders found out about the Komodo dragons after WW1 when a report came from a downed aircraft and the surviving pilot swam to Komodo Island.



Juvenile at 19 months

BEHAVIOR:

In the wild, Komodo dragons are generally solitary animals, except during the breeding season. Males maintain and defend a territory and patrol up to 1.2 miles (2 km.) per day. Territories are dependent on the size of the dragon. Feeding ranges extend further and may be shared with other males. A dragon will allow other dragons to cross its territory when they are on a food run.

Dragons maintain burrows within their core ranges and occasionally males will swim from island to island over long distances. They regulate their body temperature (thermoregulation) by using a burrow.

DIET:

The Komodo is carnivorous and cannibalistic and it has a prodigious appetite. They regularly kill prey as large as pigs and small deer, and have been known to bring down an adult water buffalo. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything they can overpower including small dragons and small or injured humans (dragons make up to 10% of their diet).

An eyewitness account revealed that a 101 lb (46 kg.) dragon ate a 90 lb. (41 kg.) pig in 20 minutes. As a comparison, a 100 lb. person would have to eat 320 quarter pound hamburgers in less than 20 minutes to keep up with the dragon.

In the zoo, the Komodo dragons are fed previously frozen rats.

REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:

The life expectancy of a Komodo is between 20 to 40 years. As noted above, Komodo dragons are generally solitary animals, except during the breeding season.

The male Komodo dragon presses his snout to the female's body, and flicks her with his long, forked tongue to obtain chemical information about her receptivity. He then scratches her back with his long claws, making a ratchet-like noise. If unreceptive, she raises and inflates her neck and hisses loudly.

The female wild dragons will utilize the nest mound of a brush turkey in which she will lay a clutch of up to 30 eggs. Hatchlings are about 15 inches (40 centimeters) and weigh 3.5 ounces (100 g.).

Juveniles are multi-hued, (yellow, green, brown and gray); with a speckled and banded skin. Adult colors vary from earthen red to slate gray and black.

STATUS:

Endangered: The largest threat is volcanic activity, fire and subsequent loss of its prey base. Currently habitat alteration , poaching of prey species and tourism may have the most pronounced effect. Commercial trade in specimens or skins is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Wild Population: 3,000 to 5,000.

Answer 9

Description: Male Length: 2.6 m Weight: 90-kg Female Length: 1.5 m Weight: 45 kg Very large males have been recorded at 3 metres in length and a weight of more than 130 kg. The Komodo dragon, the largest lizard in the world, is a heavy, well-muscled lizard with a long thick head and neck. There are long curved claws on all four feet. The tail, which is about the same length as the body, tapers to a fine tip.


Distribution: The Komodo dragon is found on only a few small islands in the Lesser Sunda archipelago of Indonesia; the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores and Gili Motang.


Habitat: The climate is hot and dry but includes rocky slopes, savanna, forested valleys, mangrove swamps, coral reefs and sand bars. Komodo dragons are most commonly found in savanna and forest areas.


Food: Young Komodo dragons eat geckos and live mostly in trees for their first year of life, until they are about 1.3 metres in length. At this stage they begin foraging on the ground for snakes, birds, pigs, goats and deer. Komodo dragons also scavenge on beaches for dead fish or any other carrion. Large adults are capable of killing animals as large as a 600-kg water buffalo. Komodo dragons gulp chunks of flesh whole and can consume up to 80% of their own body weight in one meal. Adult dragons also prey on younger members of their own species.


Skin/Color/Coat: The colour is greyish brown with a thick rough skin, which has a beaded appearance.


Vocalization: Normally silent but can make a hissing sound when agitated.


Reproduction and Development: Komodo dragons become sexually mature at 5 to 7 years. During the breeding season, May through July, males often fight for hours for access to a female in breeding condition. From July through September females lay 15 to 30 leathery eggs, 7.5 cm in length, which incubate in unattended underground nests throughout the rainy season, from December through April. Females may guard their nests for a short period immediately after laying. Incubation time ranges from 200 to 250 days. At hatching the young are 40 cm in length and weigh about 100 g each. Hatchling dragons feed on insects and smaller reptiles, spending most of their time in trees where they are safe from adults of their own kind. By the time they are about 1.3 m in length most young dragons begin foraging on the ground. Captive Komodo dragons have survived to 35 years of age.


Adaptations: The Komodo dragon is unique among lizards, as it is the top carnivore in its isolated environment. Long claws and very strong jaws and teeth help Komodo dragons catch and kill their prey. They are remarkably fast over short distances and can show great endurance in pursuit of deer that are their main prey. The claws are used for ripping open the bodies of prey animals. Although they have no venom, the saliva of Komodo dragons contains high concentrations of bacteria that cause severe infections in animals they attack and can eventually kill any prey animal that manages to escape. The teeth have serrated edges that saw easily through meat. Teeth that are lost are regrown throughout the life of the dragon. Four or five sets of replacement teeth may be present in the jawbone behind the exposed teeth. Because Komodo dragons can regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun or seeking shade to cool themselves, they require much less food than warm blooded carnivores such as a wild dogs or tigers. Adult Komodo dragons may be able to live on only one tenth the quantity of food needed by mammal predators of the same size. Their small island habitat therefore can sustain enough prey animals to support a healthy population of reptile predators where a mammal predator would probably soon eat itself out of "house and home". Komodo dragons swim well and have been known to cross the narrow ocean barriers between the islands they inhabit.


Threats: Although it is relatively secure in this very limited habitat the Komodo dragon remains vulnerable to natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tidal waves. Grass fires that are often lit by poachers are also a recurring threat. Habitat on Flores Island, outside the protection of the park is becoming fragmented due to human encroachment. Indonesia is a country with a very large and growing human population and human demands for lands the dragon now occupies are likely to intensify. About 30 zoos in the world now house captive Komodo dragons and in May 1997 the Toronto Zoo joined the Species Survival Plan for this species when it received a young male and female from Indonesia. Careful breeding of the captive animals in zoos is an important part of the conservation plans for the Komodo dragon.


Status: Rare, CITES appendix I (no legal trade), SSP(Species Survival Plan) at the Toronto Zoo .The government of Indonesia recognizes the Komodo dragon as a national treasure and, as early as 1928, declared Komodo Island a Wilderness Area to help conserve the


Zoo Diet: Whole animals (rats) and Toronto Zoo carnivore mix.

Thats all I can get!!!!! Good Luck!!!!!!!!!! ("p)