However,
recent research suggests that the large size of komodo dragons may be
better understood as representative of a relict population of very large
varanid lizards that once lived across Indonesia and Australia, most of
which, along with other megafauna, died out after the Pleistocene.
Fossils very similar to V. komodoensis have been found in Australia
dating to greater than 3.8 million years ago, and its body size remained
stable on Flores, one of the handful of Indonesian islands where it is
currently found, over the last 900,000 years, "a time marked by major
faunal turnovers, extinction of the island's megafauna, and the arrival
of early hominids by 880 ka." and scientists believe they share an
ancestry with the cretacious period man eating predator.
As
a result of their size, these lizards dominate the ecosystems in which
they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates,
birds, and mammals. Their group behaviour in hunting is exceptional in
the reptile world. The diet of big Komodo dragons mainly consists of
deer, though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion.
Mating begins between May and August, and the eggs are laid in
September. About twenty eggs are deposited in abandoned megapode nests
or in a self-dug nesting hole. The eggs are incubated for seven to eight
months, hatching in April, when insects are most plentiful. Young
Komodo dragons are vulnerable and therefore dwell in trees, safe from
predators and cannibalistic adults. They take about eight to nine years
to mature, and are estimated to live for up to 30 years.
Komodo dragons were first recorded by Western scientists in 1910. Their
large size and fearsome reputation make them popular zoo exhibits. In
the wild their range has contracted due to human activities and they are
listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. They are protected under Indonesian
law, and a national park, Komodo National Park, was founded to aid
protection efforts.
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