Let us meet the Komodo dragon. It is the largest living lizard, and it is a kind of monitor lizard. It lives on a few islands in Indonesia, in hot, grassy forests. Most wild ones weigh about 154 pounds. The heaviest one that was checked weighed 366 pounds, and the longest was 10.3 feet long.

Now let us see how it finds food. It finds food mainly by smell, and it uses its long, forked tongue to sample the air. It can also see things as far as 300 meters away. A Komodo dragon lives and hunts alone.

Next, let us see how it hunts. It waits in one spot for food to come by. It eats deer, and it eats dead animals that it finds. It can eat up to 80 percent of its own weight in one meal.

Now let us look at something else a Komodo dragon has. A Komodo dragon also has venom. Venom is a poison that an animal makes in its body. It has venom glands in its lower jaw, and the venom keeps blood from clotting. Its teeth are curved, with tiny notches.

Now let us see how its life starts. A female lays about 30 eggs, and the eggs take about eight months to hatch. Babies climb trees and live in them, and a young one eats small animals such as lizards, insects and geckos. A young Komodo dragon is green with yellow and black bands, and an adult is dull brown or gray.

Last, let us see how Komodo dragons are protected. Indonesia set up Komodo National Park in 1980. As of November 2026, the Komodo dragon is listed as endangered. A Komodo dragon starts life in an egg on an island, and its home is a small part of the world.

Words to know

• venom: poison
• glands: body organs
• forked: split in two
• endangered: at risk

The short version

The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard. It lives on a few islands in Indonesia. Most wild adults weigh about 70 kilograms. It finds food mainly by smell, using its long, forked tongue to sample the air, and it has venom glands in its lower jaw.

Quick facts

• The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard.
• Most wild Komodo dragons weigh about 70 kilograms (154 pounds).
• A Komodo dragon finds food mainly by its sense of smell.
• A Komodo dragon has venom glands in its lower jaw.
• Indonesia set up Komodo National Park in 1980.