These large lizards range in color from black to yellow-gray, depending on their location, and have a rough, durable skin reinforced with osteoderms (bony plates) protecting them from injuries from scratches and bites. Komodo dragons also have a large, muscular tail and long, powerful claws. Find out more!

Some dragons scratch shallow burrows to rest in at night to keep warm and as a cool shelter to retreat to from the heat of the day. They may either make their own burrows or use an existing one another lizard created.

Sometimes these burrows can be seen along the slopes of dry streambeds among tree roots. However, not all Komodo dragons use burrows; in fact, one adult male on Komodo Island often sleeps at night in an abandoned hut that visitors used to stay in!

After a late afternoon meal, the dragon is ready for bed, sleeping soundly in its burrow until a new day begins. It is a solitary creature that lives and hunts alone.

An adult Komodo dragon eats whatever food is available. Its natural prey, however, is the Timor deer. The deer are wary and quite agile, requiring the dragon to resort to lying in ambush in the long grass next to game trails, in order to be successful in hunting.

When the deer passes by, the dragon uses its long claws and sharp teeth to attack. If the prey escapes, the dragon can rely on its long tongue to find its whereabouts, even up to a mile away (1.6 kilometers) away!