Komodo Dragon

All three photos posted this morning were taken at the Calgary Zoo yesterday afternoon, 6 October 2015. The west entrance to the Zoo will be closed from 13 October till April 2016, so I did want to get in another visit before then. I don't like the drive home on Deerfoot Trail from the north entrance, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter. "Calgary's infamous freeway has taken the dubious top spot when it comes to this city's most dangerous place to drive." From the Calgary Sun.

The forecast was for sun with some cloud, but it turned out to be overcast the whole afternoon and most of my photos, especially those taken indoors, came out blurry.

The Zoo has an adult Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) called Loka. She is the oldest female Komodo dragon in captivity and she arrived at the Calgary Zoo in 2014. Later, the Zoo acquired four new young ones (all from the same litter). When they arrived, they were put in the adjacent enclosure, so that they wouldn't get eaten. My photo is a close-up shot of one of the young ones. The IUCN Status of the Komodo Dragon is ENDANGERED – there are only between 3 to 5 thousand Komodo dragons left in the wild.

“The Komodo dragon’s size (2.4 - 2.7 m or 72 - 108 in length) and appearance as well as the yellow color of its long, forked tongue inspired the ‘dragon’ portion of their name, evoking thoughts of mythical, firebreathing creatures.

Komodo dragons are the largest lizard in the world. As such they are also the largest of the monitor lizards, an ancient reptile group with ancestors that date back more than 100 million years.

Their habitat is hilly and rugged volcanic forest and grassland where conditions are hot and dry; tropical dry forest and sometimes moist deciduous monsoon forests of southeastern Indonesia.

Komodos can eat large chunks of food without chewing because of their loosely-articulated jaws. Powerful neck and throat muscles help this process. A Komodo dragon can consume up to 80 per cent of its own body weight at one time.” From the Calgary Zoo website.

www.calgaryzoo.com/animals/reptiles/komodo-dragon

simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon