KOMODO DRAGONKOMODO DRAGON

By : Jocktane WillyEcole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne (2014)

Who Am IWho Am I??• I am a reptile

• I live up to 50 years old in the wild

• I am a good swimmer,  I can climb trees and like most lizards,  I can run up to 18 km/h

Where Do I LiveWhere Do I Live ? ?

• Komodo Island is near Indonesia

• One of the biggest islands near Indonesia

My DietMy Diet ? ?● I am a carnivore

● I sit and wait for my

prey

● When prey comes I

pounce on it

● I eat from the sizes of

a hand to buffalo

● I have no predadores

Killer MachineKiller Machine?? Small teeth helps them

tear meat

Mucus helps swallow

Special stomach helps them digest animals bigger than themselves.

“Poisonous” germs kill prey quickly.

Poisonous or notPoisonous or not ? 

• Poisonous animal :

Some specialists think that is vevom which kills prays

• Virulent bacterias :

Others think that prays died by wound infection due to the bacterias inside dragons' mouth and also because buffalos run into water when attacked.

BacteriasBacterias ?A  Komodo  dragon's  saliva  can  contain anywhere from 50 to 80 different bacteria. With  that  much  bacteria  entering  the bloodstream  through  a  bite,  bacterial infection and death are guaranteed.

But  Bryan  Fry,  from  the  University  of Queensland, have shown that  the level of bacteria  in  a  Komodo  dragon's  mouth proved  to  be  even  lower  than  many mammalian  mouths,  especially  those  of carnivores.  The  dragon's  mouth,  he found, was kind of...clean.

PoisonousPoisonous ? ?In 2009, the Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry and is team found :

- presence of two glands in the lower jaw

- secreted several different toxic proteins

=> inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to shock and loss of consciousness

VENOM very similar to Gila Monster

FinallyFinally ?The problem remains as before :

• Some specialists will consider the komodo dragon as a poisonous animal

• Some not

Nevertheless, anyone could support his point of view subjected to evidences.

Why Am I EndangeredWhy Am I Endangered ? ?• By human activities

destroying my habitat (main cause)

• Because of volcanic activity, fire, and tourism

• Only about 500 Komodo Dragons left

• Protected since 1915

Why Am I EndangeredWhy Am I Endangered ? ?• By human activities

destroying my habitat (main cause)

• Because of volcanic activity, fire, and tourism

• Only about 500 Komodo Dragons left

• Protected since 1915

Do you have any questions ?

My contact : willy.jocktane(at)etu.emse.fr