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Project Noah Nature School
Varanus komodoensis
Captive, not wild. Photoed at Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach.
Largest living lizard. Largest verified specimen = 10.3 feet (3.13 m) and weighed 366 pounds (166 kg). More typical weights are about 154 pounds (70 kg). Although the Komodo can run briefly at speeds up to 13 mph (20 kph), its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. They can spend hours in one spot, waiting for a deer, boar, goat, or anything sizable and nutritious. Large mammalian carnivores, such as lions, tend to leave 25 to 30 percent of their kill unconsumed, declining the intestines, hide, skeleton, and hooves. Komodos eat much more efficiently, forsaking only about 12 percent of the prey. They eat bones, hooves, and swaths of hide. They also eat intestines, but only after swinging them vigorously to scatter their contents. This behavior removes feces from the meal.
Spotted on Jul 28, 2013
Submitted on Aug 16, 2013
1 Comment
Hooo man. I really want to see a wild one!