The Komodo dragon lives on six islands in Indonesia. As of 2021, an estimated 3,500 lived there. As of 2021, they lived in eight subpopulations, and almost 70 percent of Komodo dragons were on Komodo and Rinca. Komodo dragons live from sea level up to 820 meters on the islands. Scientists did not formally record the Komodo dragon as a new species until 1910, although its group, the monitor lizards, has ancestors from more than 100 million years ago.
From 1981 to 2021, Komodo dragon numbers dropped from 5,000 to 3,500, and the IUCN moved the species from vulnerable to endangered. The Dutch colonial government began protection plans as early as 1915.
Komodo dragons have the smallest home range of any large predator in the world. A home range can be as large as 1.9 square kilometers, although ranges can overlap. A Komodo dragon can walk up to seven miles in a day, and it is a good swimmer that has been seen swimming to nearby islands.
Female Komodo dragons do not breed every year, and use rest years to recover. A female lays about 30 eggs, and the eggs take about eight months to hatch. Some females lay them in nest mounds that birds called megapodes built. Baby Komodo dragons climb trees and live in them.
Adults weigh 70 to 136 kilograms (154 to 300 pounds), and they are 1.8 to 3 meters (6 to 10 feet) long. Males are heavier and longer than females. A Komodo dragon has about 60 short, serrated teeth, and it goes through four or five sets in a lifetime. Movable joints let its lower jaw open unusually wide, and its stomach expands easily.
A Komodo dragon eats very quickly, and it can eat up to 80 percent of its own weight in one meal. It leaves behind only about 12 percent of what it eats. When food is found, the largest males eat first, then smaller males and females, then young ones.
In 1980, Indonesia set up Komodo National Park. The park covers about 700 square miles, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has patrols that guard the dragons. As of 2021, an estimated 3,500 Komodo dragons lived on six islands, and as of November 2026, the Komodo dragon is still listed as endangered.
Words to know
- subpopulations: island groups
- IUCN: nature group
- vulnerable: at risk
- megapodes: mound-building birds
