The Komodo Dragon

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world. It can grow longer than a grown human - 6 to 10 feet! Males can weigh up to 200 pounds and females weigh about half as much. Komodo dragons are a type of monitor lizard, and are the top predators on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar and western Flores. They are apex predators, which means they have no natural enemies, although young Komodos can be eaten by snakes, birds of prey, and even other dragons. Komodo dragons can live up to 30 years. 

Komodo dragons feed mostly on carrion, or animals that are already dead, but will also attack live prey like wild pigs, water buffalos, snakes and lizards. Like a snake, the Komodo dragon smells with its forked tongue. The forked shape helps it smell in both directions. The Komodo dragon has saliva that can produce a deadly venom that can kill its prey. Komodo dragons can eat 80 percent of their body weight in one feeding, and sometimes swallow smaller animals whole. Like owls, they regurgitate the horns, hooves and hair later as pellets. For being so large, they can run pretty fast, up to 12 miles per hour. 

Komodo dragons are solitary animals, which means they live alone. While grown Komodos live on the ground in tropical forests, young Komodos are more agile and mostly live in trees to stay safe. They do not like to share! They will fight other Komodos for food using their powerful tails like a whip. Their strong claws help them push each other. Their sharp, powerful teeth also help them fight. Their scientific name is Varanus komodoensis. Komodo dragons are an endangered species due to hunting and habitat loss. 

Cool Fact: Komodo dragons can smell food up to three miles away!

The Lar Gibbon

The lar gibbon, also known as the white-handed gibbon, is one of the smaller members of the primate family. Lar gibbons live in the rain forests of South and Southeast Asia and hardly ever come down to the forest floor. They spend their lives swinging from tree to tree. 

Lar gibbons grow to about 25 inches tall and only weigh about 12 pounds. A lar gibbon's fur can be black, dark-brown or light-brown. Their hands and feet are white, and a ring of white hair surrounds their black face. Male and female lar gibbons usually stay together their whole lives. Young gibbons leave the family to find mates when they are ready. Lar gibbons are omnivores. They mainly eat fruit, but also eat vegetables, leaves, insects, bird eggs and flowers. 

Lar gibbon families protect their territories by scaring off other gibbons with their calls. In fact, every morning, lar gibbons will gather at the edge of their territories to perform a "great call." Unfortunately, lar gibbons are endangered, mostly because of habitat loss and illegal logging.  

Cool Fact: The lar gibbon is one of the 14 species of lesser apes, which are primates that have long arms they use likes hooks to swing from branch to branch. 

The Tiger Shark

The tiger shark is one of the most deadly sharks in the sea (the title of most deadly goes to the great white shark). The tiger shark get its name because of the dark stripes down its body, although the stripes fade as the shark gets older. Baby tiger sharks usually have darker stripes than adults. You may think the sand tiger shark is related to the tiger shark, but the tiger shark's closest relatives are actually blue, lemon, bull and reef sharks!

Tiger sharks will attack almost anything, including humans! These sharks are found in most of the world's warmer seas and oceans, especially around central Pacific islands, and sometimes swim into rivers. Tiger sharks are typically longer than great white sharks and can grow between 10 and 25 feet long. They have very big heads with blunt snouts used to push prey, large eyes and wide mouths. Tiger sharks are fast swimmers and can reach speeds up to 20 miles per hour in just a few seconds. 

The tiger shark hunting style is to approach its prey slowly and calmly and then suddenly attack. (The bull shark has this same hunting style.) It eats more different types of prey than any other shark, including fish, seals, sea lions, turtles, crabs, sea birds, dolphins, crocodiles, squid, jellyfish and even other sharks. Tiger sharks are awesome predators! Unfortunately, many types of ocean garbage, including tires, oil drums, tools and tin cans, have been found in the stomachs of tiger sharks. 

Female tiger sharks have an average of 35 to 55 babies - or pups - at one time. Some have been known to have 82 pups at once! Tiger sharks are apex predators - which means they have no natural predators. But they have been known to be hunted by pods of killer whales. Tiger shark are a threatened species due to fishing by humans. 

Cool Fact: Sharks do not have moveable upper or lower eyelids, but the tiger shark has a clear eyelid that can cover the eye.