Komodo Dragons

Meet the world’s largest living lizard

Dangerous and deadly aptly describe the largest existing lizard species alive on Earth - the Komodo dragon. Listed as vulnerable (to extinction) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, they number less than 6,000. They mostly inhabit the islands of Indonesia's Komodo National Park as well as some areas of Flores. These formidable predators devour deer, wild pigs, smaller dragons, water buffalo - and humans if given a chance. Their clay-colored, scaly skin provides them with perfect camouflage as they lie on the brown earth among dead leaves waiting for unsuspecting prey. To seize their prey, the lizard's powerful legs spring into action, and their deadly bites leave little hope for the victim unless treated immediately.

The dragons will follow a bitten water buffalo about a month, waiting for it to succumb to the venomous bite. Their keen sense of smell enables the dragons to detect the scent of blood up to 10 kilometers.

The females lay from 15 to 30 eggs in ground nests that they have overtaken from wild turkey-like birds. The mothers then lie near their nests, protecting the eggs until hatched. According to the park ranger, only three to five newborns survive due to predators, including their own cannibal mothers!

Upon hatching, the babies climb trees, build nests and survive on birds and insects until they are big enough to survive in the dragon world below.

Info Cloud
本文說到科摩多巨蜥: Komodo Dragons
dragon 是龍, 但西方跟東方的龍是不一樣的,
在西方dragon 是有大翅膀, 四肢粗壯的巨獸, 是邪惡的象徵
中國的dragon 頭上有一對角, 沒有翅膀, 沒有粗壯四肢, 而是正義吉祥的象徵,
也是中華文化特有的標誌
所以在西方稱中國的龍, 會說 Chinese dragon
但因為dragon有負面的象徵, 此後有學者說要把龍的英文改成音譯 long
目前為止還沒有得到廣泛的認可

Grammar Gym
"Upon hatching, the babies climb trees..."
upon: at that moment
- Upon hearing the good news of his promotion, Timothy called his parents to let them know.
- Upon seeing the mess in the living room, Cynthia knew her kids were home.

Language Lab
aptly adv.
likely to do something : having a tendency to do something

vulnerable adj. 脆弱的, 容易受傷害的 — often + to
easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally
- This kind of material is vulnerable to heat.
這種材質對高溫很脆弱
vulnerability n. 很容易受傷害
- The engineers are trying to reduce the system's vulnerability to viruses.
工程師們正嘗試降低系統被攻擊的可能性

formidable adj. 強大的,
very powerful or strong : deserving serious attention and respect
- a formidable enemy/opponent/weapon
very difficult to deal with
-  The mountains were a formidable barrier.
- This quarterback is a formidable opponent.
- Setting up a branch office is a formidable challenge.
設立分公司是個艱鉅的任務

succumb v.屈服於, 死於— often + to
/səˈkʌm/
to stop trying to resist something; to die
- After years of treatment, Vivian succumbed to cancer last year.
- We refuse to succumb to the enemy's threats.

venomous adj. 有毒的, 分泌毒液的
/ˈvɛnəməs/
capable of putting poison or venom into another animal's body usually by biting or stinging it
- This venomous spider can kill a small animal in seconds.
這種有毒的蜘蛛可以在秒殺一隻小型的動物
惡毒的, 狠毒的
expressing very strong hatred or anger
- These venomous personal attacks on the web wounded her so much.
這些網路上的人身攻擊讓他深受傷害

cannibal n.
/ˈkænəbəl/
a person who eats the flesh of human beings or an animal that eats its own kind



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