Komodo dragons are real animals. They are the largest lizards alive in the world today. Wild Komodo dragons live on a few islands in Indonesia. Scientists from the West did not find them until the early 1900s. First came rumors of a giant dragon-like lizard. Male Komodo dragons can grow about 10 feet long. As of November 2026, the Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard in the world.

Komodo dragons eat almost any meat. They eat small rodents and large water buffalo. They eat most of the animals they catch and leave very little behind. Scientists found venom glands in the lower jaw of the Komodo dragon. Its mouth is not especially dirty, so the old idea that germs kill its prey does not hold up well. It uses its long forked tongue to taste and smell the air.

Long ago, people found giant fossil bones. They made up stories to explain them. Ancient Greeks and Romans collected fossil bones too. People who did not know about extinction thought huge fossils might belong to dragons. The English word dragon comes from the Greek word drakon. It meant a serpent. Dragons in old European books were drawn in many different shapes.

Sailors long ago told of mermaids. They were most likely seeing manatees. Sea serpent stories are very old too; the giant oarfish may be one real animal behind them. As of November 2026, the giant oarfish is the longest bony fish in the world. Giant squid have huge eyes; the eyes help them see in the dark deep sea.

The narwhal's long spiral horn is really a tooth. A narwhal's tusk is not solid bone. It is full of nerves; it can sense changes in the water, such as salt and temperature. Long ago, traders sold narwhal tusks as unicorn horns. They got a lot of money for them. Queen Elizabeth I was said to own a unicorn horn worth 10,000 pounds. That was the price of a castle.

Dragon stories are told in many places. The oldest Chinese dragons are more than 3,000 years old. In Chinese stories, dragons lived in water or in the clouds. They brought rain to help crops grow. Chinese dragons were pictured as a mix of parts from many animals. The neck was a snake's; the scales were a carp's. The claws were an eagle's.

Dragons were not always scary. In some stories they bring rain and good luck. In China, people hold dragon dances at New Year celebrations; the dragon is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, so there is a Year of the Dragon. In China, the dragon is a lucky symbol that stands for wisdom, power and good fortune.

Words to know

• fossil: old bones
• extinction: gone forever
• tusk: long tooth
• zodiac: 12 animal signs
• serpent: snake