Young Komodo Dragon

When I called in at the Calgary Zoo on 14 October 2014, this time the adult Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) called Loka was visible. She is the oldest female Komodo dragon in captivity and she arrived at the Calgary Zoo just a few months ago. Very recently, the Calgary Zoo acquired four new young ones (all from the same litter) and they are in the exhibit next to Loka, so that they don't get eaten. My photo is a close-up shot of one of the young ones, which was lying next to a bright lamp - hence the rather golden look to its skin. The IUCN Status of the Komodo Dragon is ENDANGERED – there are only between 3 to 5 thousand Komodo dragons left in the wild.

“The Komodo dragon’s size (2.4 - 2.7 m or 72 - 108 in length) and appearance as well as the yellow color of its long, forked tongue inspired the ‘dragon’ portion of their name, evoking thoughts of mythical, firebreathing creatures.

Komodo dragons are the largest lizard in the world. As such they are also the largest of the monitor lizards, an ancient reptile group with ancestors that date back more than 100 million years.

Their habitat is hilly and rugged volcanic forest and grassland where conditions are hot and dry; tropical dry forest and sometimes moist deciduous monsoon forests of southeastern Indonesia.

Komodos can eat large chunks of food without chewing because of their loosely-articulated jaws. Powerful neck and throat muscles help this process. A Komodo dragon can consume up to 80 per cent of its own body weight at one time.” From the Calgary Zoo website.

www.calgaryzoo.com/animals/reptiles/komodo-dragon

simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon