By Chase Sheldon,
Deadly with just a bite. Capable of brief sprints of up to twelve miles per hour. Coming in at over ten feet in length and weighing in at over three hundred and thirty pounds. And living solely on islands of Indonesia that were born from volcanoes. Komodo Dragons are truly living beasts of fire and rock. Dragons that really exist and are terrifyingly powerful and hungry. Nowhere else are there creatures quite like them alive today, dragged up and kept around by a ferocity and bloodthirstiness that really isn't seen anywhere else on Earth.
Komodo National Park consists of three major islands, Rinca, Komodo, and Padar, alongside several smaller ones that all lay somewhat near the very center of the Indonesian Archipelago. On these islands, there are somewhere around five thousand and seven hundred Komodo Dragons living and feasting amongst the rocks, trees and beaches. These deadly predators are mostly carrion eaters, feasting on rotting flesh that they can find along the sand and stone of their home islands. However, Komodo Dragons will not pass up on live prey either, setting up ambushes and using their massive weight and deadly bites to bring down prey animals.
It's been previously thought that the bite of a Komodo Dragon is so deadly because of the amount of rot and bacteria that they have in their mouths. It's actually been discovered that the effects of their bite, which was previously believed to be these deadly bacteria, was instead venom, specifically a gland in their jaw that injects venomous proteins into their meals. The known functions of these proteins include inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to shock and loss of consciousness in envenomated prey. Surprisingly for carrion eaters, Komodo Dragons have good dental hygiene, and keep their mouths clean with dirt baths.
Komodo National Park in Indonesia is home to so many beautiful and wonderful creatures of nature, from incredible Javan deer to water buffalo, banded pigs, civets, cockatoos and even brave little macaques. All these amazing animals bow to the dangerous Komodo Dragons, who are the apex predators and undisputed rulers of the island chain, and make their home on the majestic white sand beaches.