Just like other lizards, dragons are covered in rough scales which resemble armour. They walk on bowed legs, sliding their tails back and forth to help with balance. The largest ever recorded Komodo dragon was well over 3 metres long and weighed 166 kg! The huge variation in weight may be due to the fact that these creatures can eat up to 80% of their own body weight in a single meal. The average male adult is about 2.5 metres in length and weighs in at around 50 - 70 kilograms. In some places you also see monitor lizards which can be up to half a metre in length, but the dragon is the king. In Asia one gets used to seeing small lizards sunning themselves and geckos racing around the ceiling trying to catch a tasty insect. Their ancestors date back over 100 million years. It's an easy walk with some great views and you may also see other wildlife such as wild pigs, deer and birds. Park rangers lead visitors on guided walks to view the dragons in their natural environment. All dive cruises in the area will include a land excursion in the Komodo National Park for guests to see these prehistoric giants, known locally in Indonesia by the name 'Ora'. But you will get the chance to see these land-bound giant reptiles during Komodo liveaboard trips. Naturally, the Komodo dragon is not something you will see cruising the reefs (although they can and do swim). A recent estimate puts the number of individuals at between 4-5,000 - rare indeed. The Dutch and local rulers quickly realised that the species was rare, and protection plans were made in 1915. A couple of years later, a paper was published that identified it as a monitor lizard, and it was given the scientific name Varanus komodoensis. The largest monitor lizard in the world, the Komodo dragon was unknown in the west until 1910, when local stories reached the ears of the Dutch colonialists about a "land crocodile".
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