What You Can Do In the Community
to Save Komodo Dragons

Did you know that there are only about 5000 Komodo dragons left in the wild?

 


The scientific name for Komodo dragons is Komodoensis Varanus. This legendary lizard has been mistaken many times to be a man eating dragon. It is a very dangerous animal. Its diet consists of buffalo, pigs, sheep and even the young of its own kind. When it bites, it injects 50 types of bacteria, which can infect and kill the victim in 24 hours. Studies show this creature is not afraid of humans.

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard and can grow to 12 feet long. They can weigh up to 300 pounds. The skin of one of these creatures is dull brown, gray, and black with scaly bodies. Komodos shed many times. They are very strong creatures too.

In the wild, Komodo dragons are only found on the isles of Komodo and a few other small Indonesian islands.


As humans encroach upon the habitat of the Komodo dragon, bold males wander into swamps and get hit by visiting boats and are killed. Other reasons these amazing animals are endangered are volcanoes, earthquakes, habitat destruction and change, fire, poaching, tourism, and loss of prey. These are all different reasons that Komodo dragons are sadly becoming extinct.

Another reason they're becoming extinct is because people have captured the dragons, and then they sell them as pets or kill them for their body parts.

The Indonesian government protects Komodo dragons from poachers. Scientists are also trying to save their habitat. Fortunately, many zoos have created successful programs to breed Komodo dragons.

This is what you can do to protect them:

  1. Don’t buy products made of Komodo dragon skin such as purses or bags because a Komodo has been killed for it.
  2. Don’t buy timber or wood from the Island of Komodo because it decreases the dragons’ habitat.
  3. Don’t buy animal products from the Island of Komodo because it decreases the dragons’ prey.
  4. When you go to Komodo as a tourist, avoid harming these creatures.
  5. Share this information with your friends to increase awareness of this endangered animal.

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C.F. "Dragon Alert." Science World. October 1995: 5. Searchasaurus. EBSCO Publishing. 27 March 2007.

"Conservation." Wikipedia. 27 March 2007.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon#
Conservation>.

Huey, Raymond B. "Komodo Dragon." World Book Online
Reference Center. 2007. 27 March 2007
<http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar303960>.

"Komodo Dragon". National Geographic. 8 March 2007.
<http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/
komodo-dragon.html>.

"Reptiles & Amphibians." Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
8 March 2007.
<http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/
FactSheets/Komododragon.cfm>.

"Vanishing in the Wild: The Komodo Dragon." Bagheera: In the Wild.8 March 2007.
<http://bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_komodo.htm>.

Images

Permission to use all of the photographs on this page of Komodo dragon and komodo dragon's skin is granted  under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page> (March, 2007).

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