Komodo dragon Facts for Kids

Varanus komodoensis · VAIR-uh-nus koh-moh-doh-EN-sis

The biggest lizard alive, with a forked tongue that tastes the air.

🏃 9.9 to 12 mph16 to 20 km/h1
⚖️ 154 lb70 kg1
📏 10 ft3.1 m1 long
🎂 30 years30 years1
🍽️ meat
In danger (Endangered)

The Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard. It flicks its long, forked tongue to smell. It lives on islands.

A Komodo dragon flicks out its yellow, forked tongue to pick up smells from the air, and can find food from far away. It is not a real dragon and can't breathe fire, but it is the heaviest lizard on Earth. Baby dragons live up in trees, where they are safer.

Komodo dragons live only on a few islands in Indonesia, where they are the top hunters. They mostly wait in hiding rather than chase. Scientists have found that their bite carries venom. A female can sometimes lay eggs that hatch with no father, something only a few kinds of animals can do. Komodo National Park protects them and their islands.

How big is a Komodo dragon?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🦎 Komodo dragon, 10 ft3.1 m long

Komodo dragon in numbers

Length	10 ft3.1 m1largest verified specimen
Height at the shoulder	no checked number yet
Weight	154 lb70 kg1typical wild weight
Top speed (running)	9.9 to 12 mph16 to 20 km/h1running, brief bursts
How long it lives	30 years30 years1in the wild
What it eats	deer, pigs and dead animals
Where it lives	a few islands in Indonesia, including Komodo
What kind	Reptiles
Is it in danger?	In danger (Endangered)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

It smells with its tongue by flicking it in the air.
Young Komodo dragons live in trees.
A female can sometimes have babies with no father.

Compare the Komodo dragon

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the Komodo dragon eat?

Plants and animalsMeatFish

The answer: Meat. It eats deer, pigs and dead animals.

Where does the Komodo dragon live?

BackyardSavannaDesert

The answer: Savanna. It lives in a few islands in Indonesia, including Komodo.

Which is longer, the Komodo dragon or the blue whale?

The Komodo dragonThe blue whaleThey're the same

The answer: The blue whale. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the Komodo dragon, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the Komodo dragon for free.

Where these numbers come from

Smithsonian's National Zoo, Komodo dragon, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Komodo dragon (Q4504), checked 30 October 2026.