The habitat of an animal is the natural place where it lives. Komodo dragons’ habitat is both on land and in water. Komodos live in Indonesia, mainly on four small islands called Flores, Rintja, Gili Motang and komodo. The islands are surrounded by the Indian Ocean. These islands are covered with Rocky Mountains and grassy areas called tropical savannas. It is very hot and dry, and there are often droughts. Droughts are long periods of time without rain. Very few animals live on these islands because of the heat and droughts. Komodo dragons are strong swimmers. They often swim from one island to another. The beaches of the islands are an important part of dragons’ habitat. The dragons search the beaches for marine birds and dead fishes to eat.

The young komodo dragons sleep in trees to get away from predators. The adult komodo dragons sleep in burrows that they made or was made by another animal. If the owner of the burrow is still there, the komodo will easily convince him to move out.

The Komodo dragons’ are endangered because they live in small parts of the world and there are only 3,000 to 5,000 komodo dragons left. The komodo dragons are hunted for there body parts to make medicine.

The Komodo dragons live on the forest floor. The floor is covered in steep Rocky Mountains. At the top of these mountains, grow dense forests and trees because of the sea mists. At the bottom grow grass areas called tropical savannas. They are very dry and harsh and fires regularly break out, burning most of the plants.

Very few people live on these islands because there isn’t much water. This doesn’t bother the komodo dragons. The dragons climb the rocky slopes easily and can survive long periods without water. The dragon favourite place is between the rain forest and the savannas where it can find both shade and sun.

Komodo dragons have powerful bodies. Komodo dragons can run up to fifteen miles per hour (24.1 kph). Most komodos grow to length of nine feet (2.7metres). Their bodies are covered with tough and thick skin. Their skin is grey and brown.

Komodo dragons are famous for their deadly mouths. Their is a lot of bacteria in their mouths. The bacteria is deadly to almost every animal that comes in contact with them- that is except Komodo dragons. Scientists are trying to learn why the bacterium does not harm humans. Komodo dragons have about 60 razor sharp teeth. The wide mouth of a komodo dragon allows it to swallow big chunks of unchewed meat.

When a komodo dragon hunts it tastes the air with its tongue. The dragon then pushes its tongue on the sensitive patch on the roof of its mouth. When he does this, the sent tells him if there is food nearby.

The tail of komodo dragons is almost as long as the rest of the body. Komodo dragons use their long claws to climb trees, catch prey, or dig burrows. Komodo dragons are strong swimmers.

Komodo dragons mainly hunt and eat Rusa deer. They also hunt birds, wild pigs, monkeys and other reptiles. The dragons eat nearly all parts of their preys, including the bones, hooves and fur. After a large meal Komodo dragons do not need to eat again for several days. They also don’t need to drink water for many days after eating. They get most of the water from the prey they eat. The dragons search the beaches for marine birds and dead fish to eat.

Komodo dragon are smart and patient hunters. They often hide in tall grasses near a water hole. They wait for their prey that comes to drink water. When it is the time, they use their powerful legs to jump at the prey. They then knock over the animal and bite it with their sharp teeth.

When Komodo dragons bite their prey, the animals wound fills with deadly bacteria from the komodo dragons mouth. If the animal gets away after being bitten, it soon dies from the bacteria. The Komodo dragons then track down the dying animal. They feed on the dead body. They can eat up to 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of food per minute. If they don’t find enough food they will die. The young komodo dragons eat mostly insects.

If the babies are attacked, they will climb trees and hide in small holes. They camouflage in trees because the color of their skin is almost the same as the color of the tree. Hatchlings live in trees because they aren’t old enough to fight an adult komodo dragon or fight a wild dog.

If there is any danger, the komodo will hiss loudly telling the other komodo dragons to stay away. Hissing will also scare the predator. Sometimes komodo’s puff up their skin around their mouth to make themselves look bigger or swing their tail side ways to scare animals or other komodo dragons. They move their bodies certain ways to show their anger.

A komodo dragon spends most of its time alone. If the Komodo dragon kills an animal it does not share it with anyone. Sometimes it will share carrion with other komodo dragons. Carrion is the meat of an animal that is already dead. The strongest komodo dragons eat first. The young komodo dragons wait till the adult komodo dragons are finished eating. To survive adult komodo dragons will even eat the baby komodo dragons if they get to hungry.

The hatchlings have enemies witch are adult komodo dragons. To get away from this predator they climb trees because adult komodo dragons are too heavy to climb trees.

The second predators are wild dogs. To escape the dogs, komodo dragons can hide in small holes or climb trees. A young Komodo dragon won’t go next to a hungry adult because it could get killed or eaten.

A third enemy is man because he kills the Komodo dragons for their body parts. The body parts can be used to make special medicines. People think that the medicines will make them better swimmers or will stop people from growing older. Humans also capture them to send them to zoos. In zoos, if komodo dragons don’t get proper care, they will not survive.

The adult komodo dragons have no animal enemies except other komodo dragons. This is because of their size.

Reproduction is essential to the life cycle. Every animal has their own life cycle. A life cycle is made up of all the changes that happen to an animal from the time it is born to the time it becomes an adult and can have babies of its own. With each baby a new life cycle begins.

A komodo dragon is an adult at about six years old. They mate in late June or July. When the female is ready to mate, it releases special chemical signals. Any passing male can hone in on these signals with its excellent sense of smell. If another male comes by, there will be a huge fight between them until the winner scares the other off. Once they are alone, the winner will gently bite the female on the neck. After one or two months the female will be ready to lay her eggs. After eight months a new Komodo dragon hatches.

People have started to take proper care of the komodo dragons. In zoos of North America approximately 95 hatchlings survived since 1992. Also the president of Indonesia is the only person that can let people take komodo dragons into zoos, so the zoo keepers have to take good care of the komodo dragons.

Komodo dragons have probably inspired some fairy tale dragon stories because they look like the fierce, fire breathing dragons.