Komodo+Dragon

 The Komodo Dragon is the most incredible, the most amazing animal ever. After you read this you will want to head on over to the one, the only, Sedgwick County Zoo, to observe it. Did you know that a Komodo’s eyes are actually on the sides of its head? (Pretty odd for a carnivore.) The Komodo dragon is the world’s heaviest and largest lizard! It weighs up to 150 lbs. and can grow up to 9.8 feet in length. Komodos live on the following islands in Indonesia: Komodo Island, Flores, Rinca, Gili Dasami, and Gili Montag. Usually, the Komodo will feed on dead animals also known as carrion. It will also hunt prey such as mammals and birds. In zoos, they only eat frozen rats. Komodo Dragons usually mate May through August, and their eggs are laid in September. They lay up to 20 eggs at one time, which hatch in April. Although Chinese traders discovered the Komodo Dragon in the second century A.D., Western scientists did not discover them until 1910. They are very popular at zoos because they are so large and strong. They aren’t listed as an endangered animal, but are vulnerable in the wild. Sadly only 3,000 to 5,000 Komodo Dragons survive in the wild. However under Indonesian laws and a national park called **Komodo National Park,** they are protected.  The Komodo Dragon does **not** have good hearing, and it uses its tongue to sample air. It has several taste buds in the back of its throat because its nose isn’t very effective for smelling. Komodos don’t have great night vision either; although they can see in color. Komodos have poor vision on stationary  objects. The scales on its body reinforce its bones and have sensory plaques that connect to nerves for a sense of touch. A Komodo’s saliva is very deadly and can kill a person through bites. The bites from a Komodo dragon are venomous, because of the saliva. They work together and are very efficient as one. There is no antidote for the poison, but if caught early it can be treated with large amounts of antibiotics and cleaning the wound well.   Did you know that once a single Komodo Dragon took down an entire water buffalo? Once a Komodo weighing 101 pounds ate a 90 pound pig in just 20 minutes. Now, a 100 pound person would have to eat about 320 quarter pound hamburgers in 20 minutes just to keep up with the Komodo. Is that a lot of hamburgers or what?  Possibly the most amazing thing about the Komodo Dragon is its ability to reproduce using parthenogenesis. This ability allows the Komodo to reproduce without a mate. It was at the Sedgwick County Zoo that this ability was first recorded in the United Sates on January 31, 2008. So you don’t have to travel to Indonesia to visit the incredible Komodo Dragon. We have 4 right here in Wichita Kansas!!!    A Komodo opening its mouth.   <span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
 * __<span style="font-size: 28pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Gloucester MT Extra Condensed','serif';">Komodo Dragon __**//<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Gloucester MT Extra Condensed','serif';">By: Jack //

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