Komodo Dragon

Part of Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians.

Museum diorama featuring three komodo dragons, one in foreground looking up and one beginning to eat a wild boar. Matt Shanley/© AMNH

At 10 feet and 200 pounds, the Komodo dragon is the world's biggest and most powerful lizard alive. Komodo dragons attack deer, goats, pigs, dogs, and occasionally humans.

These lizards were brought to the Museum from a 1926 expedition to the island of Komodo in Indonesia. In this exhibit, one lizard is beginning to eat a wild boar. In the background, another uses its tongue to gather chemical clues from the air to deliver to sense organs in the roof of the mouth.

The Komodo Dragon is featured in our list of Highlights. Check out the rest of our must-see exhibits!