By Aristos Georgiou
Science and Health Reporter
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A bizarre video has emerged online of a Komodo dragon walking out of the sea onto a beach while wearing a turtle shell on its head.
In the footage—which was captured on an Indonesian island—the giant lizard can be seen taking a few steps, before shaking the shell off its head.
As it does so, someone off-camera can be heard joking, "What kind of Komodo is this?"
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Komodo dragons—otherwise known as Komodo monitors—are the largest and heaviest lizards in the world, typically weighing around 154 pounds, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. The largest specimen ever recorded weighed a staggering 366 pounds and measured 10.3 feet in length.
They are only found on a few Indonesian islands in the Lesser Sunda group, such as Rintja, Flores and Komodo—from which their name is derived. Komodo dragons mostly spend their time in tropical savanna forests, however, they do roam across most parts of these islands, from the beach to higher terrain.
Despite their large size, the lizards can briefly reach speeds of up to 13 miles per hour running. However, these apex predators mostly rely on stealth to hunt, sometimes waiting hours for a meal to come along.
They detect prey using their keen sense of smell and yellow, forked tongue—linked to sensory organs—which sample the air. They also have good vision and are able to see objects as far as 985 feet away.
The lizards are not picky eaters and will eat almost any animal ranging from small rodents to deer and water buffalo, as well as scavenging carcasses. When its prey is close enough, the lizard attacks, tearing apart flesh with its large, curved, serrated teeth.
Even if the initial attack is unsuccessful, a single bite can prove fatal for the prey animal due to the venom and bacteria in the Komodo dragon's saliva. Scientists have found around 50 different bacterial strains in the saliva of these lizards, seven of which are highly septic. The venom, meanwhile, stops blood from clotting, leading to massive blood loss.
When Komodo dragons swallows prey, they can open their jaws unusually wide, enabling the lizards to consume huge amounts of meat in a relatively short space of time. Their stomachs also expand significantly, meaning adult Komodos can consume up to 80 percent of their own body weight.
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In addition, if they feel threatened and need to make a quick getaway, the lizards can rapidly empty their stomach contents in order to shed weight and run faster.
While cannibalism has been reported among Komodo dragons—which can live to around 30 years old in the wild—the venom and bacteria in their bite does not seem to affect others of the same species.
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