What it is
The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest living lizard, a heavy monitor with rough scales, strong legs and a long muscular tail. Young dragons are green with yellow and black bands, and adults are dull brown to greyish red. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Endangered.
Range
Dry grasslands and forests of Komodo, Rinca, Flores and a few nearby islands in Indonesia.
What happened
Komodo dragons ambush deer, pigs and water buffalo and also eat carrion, which they can smell from far away. The young spend their early life in trees, out of reach of the adults.
When / status
Endangered now, on only a handful of islands.
Human role
Loss of habitat on Flores, poaching of its prey and rising seas from a warming climate threaten it.