Komodo Dragon

Part of Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians.

Model of Komodo dragon, a large reptile

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.