The Dragons’ teeth are large, they’re sharp, and they’re serrated.

Its favorite meal in the wild is the Timor Deer, but it will eat anything from large water buffalo to its own newly-hatched offspring. The Komodo Dragon is an ambush predator, lurking patiently by the side of known wildlife paths to conserve energy, then leaping and striking when a tantalizing animal passes by. If they sense a threat and need to flee quickly, they simply throw up their stomach contents and lose the extra weight. And they have another useful trick for that sluggish feeling you get after overeating. They are such efficient eaters that they can eat up 80% of their own body weight in just one day. And they’re incredibly strong, especially in the muscular jaw and neck area. These giants average about 10 feet long and 154 pounds for males, and the largest Komodo Dragon on record was 10.3 feet long and weighed 366 pounds. And though they have no natural enemies, they’re now vulnerable in the wild. These real-life fairytale creatures are huge, they’re fascinating, they’re apex predators, and they’ve been around for 100 million years or so.

The Reid Park Zoo’s expansion will be bringing us the biggest lizard on earth – the Komodo Dragon. But now, Tucson, it’s time to meet The King of the Lizards. If you’ve lived here a while, you’ve probably encountered hundreds of them. From that tiny common side-blotched lizard scurrying under your garage door to the bold Eastern Collared Lizard calmly basking right in front of you, our desert lizards have amazing ways to survive and thrive.

What is the biggest comodo dragon