Heaven on earth 4: Komodo Island

Komodo Island
Komodo is an island of Indonesia with a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendents of former convicts who were exiled to the island, who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from Sulawesi. The population are primarily adherents of Islam. However, there is also a Christian and Hindu minority.

It belongs to the Lesser Sunda Islands and is a part of the Komodo National Park. Particularly notable here is the native Komodo dragon. In addition, the island is a popular destination for diving. Administratively, it is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province.

Location
Komodo lies within the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east. Not only is the island famous for its heritage of convicts on the island but the unique fauna which roam it as well. Giant lizards known as the Komodo Dragon live on this island and some of the smaller surrounding islands, attracting much tourism.

Komodo dragon

The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo Monitor, Komodo Island Monitor, Ora (to the natives of Komodo[2]), or simply Komodo, is the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2-3 metres (approximately 6.5-10 feet). This great length is attributed to island gigantism, as there are no carnivorous mammals to fill the niche in the islands that they live on, and the Komodo dragon's low metabolic rate.[3][4] As a result of its great size, these lizards are apex predators, dominating the ecosystems in which they live.[5] Komodo dragons are a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae, and the clade Toxicofera. They only inhabit the islands of Komodo, Rinca (or Rintja), Padar, Flores, Gili Motang, Owadi and Samiin in central Indonesia.[6]

Parental care in Komodo dragons is restricted to the females, who guard clutches of around 20 eggs for seven months. After hatching, young Komodo dragons often move into trees in order to avoid predation by adults. Young dragons take five years to reach maturity, after which they can live for fifty years. In captivity Komodo dragons have reproduced by parthenogenesis.

In spite of their large size, Komodo dragons were only discovered by Western scientists in 1910. Their large size and fearsome reputation makes 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 was founded in order to protect them.

Anatomy and morphology

In the wild, large adults usually weigh around 70 kilograms (154 pounds).[7] Captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified wild specimen was 3.13 metres (10 feet 3 inches) long and weighed 166 kilograms (365 pounds), including undigested food.[8] Komodo dragons have a tail that is as long as the body, as well as about 60 frequently-replaced serrated teeth that may be 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) in length.[9] Their saliva will frequently be blood-tinged, because their teeth are almost completely covered by gingival tissue and this tissue is naturally lacerated during feeding.[10] This creates an ideal culture for the virulent bacteria that live in their mouths.[11] It also has a long, yellow, deeply-forked tongue.[8] Males are larger than females, with skin color from dark grey to brick red, while females are more olive green, and have patches of yellow at the throat.[citation needed] The young are much more colorful by comparison, with yellow, green and white banding on a dark background.

Physiology

Komodo dragons' sense of hearing is not particularly acute, despite their visible earholes, and their visual discrimination (especially of stationary objects) is poor, although they can see in color. They use their tongue to detect taste and smell stimuli, as with many other reptiles, with the vomeronasal sense using a Jacobson's organ, a sense that aids navigation in the dark.[12] With the help of a favorable wind, they may be able to detect carrion up to 9.5 kilometres (6 miles) away.[10] Komodo dragons' nostrils are not of great use for smelling, as they do not have a diaphragm.[13] They have no taste buds on their tongues, only a few in the back of the throat.[12]

Their scales, some reinforced with bone, have sensory plaques connected to nerves that facilitate their sense of touch. The scales around the ears, lips, chin, and feet bottoms may have three or more sensory plaques.[10]

Formerly, Komodo dragons were thought to be deaf when a study reported no agitation in wild Komodo dragons during whispers, raised voices, and shouts. This was disputed when London Zoological Garden employee Joan Proctor trained a captive monitor to come out to feed at the sound of her voice, even when she could not be seen.