Zoo Diet
They are fed rodents, chicks, and rabbits weekly.

Reproduction
Although males tend to grow larger and bulkier than females, no obvious morphological differences mark the sexes. One subtle clue does exist: a slight difference in the arrangement of scales just in front of the cloaca. Sexing Komodos remains a challenge to researchers; the dragons themselves appear to have little trouble figuring out who is who. With a group assembled around the carrion, the opportunity for courtship arrives.

Most mating occurs between May and August. Dominant males can become embroiled in ritual combat in their quest for females. Using their tails for support, they wrestle in upright postures, grabbing each other with their forelegs as they attempt to throw the opponent to the ground. Blood is usually drawn, and the loser either runs or remains prone and motionless.

The victorious wrestler initiates courtship by flicking his tongue on a female's snout and then over her body. The temple and the fold between the torso and the rear leg are common spots. Stimulation is both tactile and chemical, through skin gland secretions. Before copulation can occur, the male must evert a pair of hemipenes located within his cloaca, at the base of the tail. The male then crawls on the back of his partner and inserts one of the two hemipenes, depending on his position relative to the female's tail, into her cloaca.

The female Komodo lays about 30 eggs in September. The delay in laying may serve to help the clutch avoid the brutally hot months of the dry season. In addition, unfertilized eggs may have a second chance with a subsequent mating. The female lays in depressions dug on hill slopes or within the pilfered nests of Megapode birds. These chicken-size land dwellers make heaps of earth mixed with twigs that may reach three feet (1 m) in height and ten feet (3 m) across. While the eggs are incubating, about nine months, females may lie on the nests, protecting their future offspring. No evidence exists, however, for parental care of newly hatched Komodos.

The hatchlings weigh less than 3.5 ounces (100 g) and average only 16 inches (40 cm) in length. Their early years are precarious, and they often fall victim to predators, including their fellow Komodos. They feed on a diverse diet of insects, small lizards, snakes, and birds. Should they live five years, they can weigh 55 pounds (25 kg) and stretch 6.5 feet (2 m) long. By this time, they have moved on to bigger prey, such as rodents, monkeys, goats, wild boars, and the most popular Komodo food, deer. Slow growth continues throughout their lives, which may last more than 30 years.


Life Span
Dragons may live about 30 years in the wild, but scientists are still studying this.

Status
Komodo dragons are endangered due in part to their limited range. It would appear that they have been hunted (legally and illegally) over the years, but not to the extent of decimating the population. Komodo National Park, established in 1980, and strict anti-poaching laws have helped protect the dragons, although illegal activity still takes place. Villagers sometimes poison carrion bait to reduce the population, much like ranchers of the American West poison sheep carcasses to rid the area of coyotes and mountain lions.

Dutch colonial government instituted protection plans as early as 1915.

Fun Fact
The ora, or "land crocodile" as they are called by locals, are the largest living lizards. They can reach lengths of more than ten feet and weigh over 300 pounds. The average size for males is eight to nine feet and about 200 pounds.