rhamphotheca:

Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) Facts

by Katherine Gammon

Komodo dragons mate between May and August and females lay about 30 eggs each in September. The hatchlings are small and defenseless — they weigh less than 3.5 ounces (100 grams) are only 16 inches long (40 centimeters). They face a tough world: Young Komodo dragons spend much of their first few years in trees, where they are relatively safe from predators, including cannibalistic adults Komodos, who make juvenile dragons 10 percent of their diet.

The lizards are generally solitary outside of mating season. Males maintain and defend a territory and patrol up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) per day. Dragons maintain burrows within their territorial ranges and occasionally males will swim from island to island over long distances. They regulate their body temperature by using a burrow…

(read more: OurAmazingPlanet)            (photo: uncredited)