There are a variety of animals in the menu of the komodo dragons. They practically eat everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-ejected fish, rodents. And although the komodo dragons are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and they are often the victims of large animals: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and wild goats and even the largest ungulates of these islands are Asian water buffaloes.
Giant komodo dragons are not actively pursuing their prey, but are more likely to steal it and grab it when it comes close.
When hunting large animals, reptiles use very sensible tactics. Adult komodo dragons , leaving the forest, slowly go to the grazing animals, from time to time stop and fall to the ground if they feel that they are attracted to their attention. Wild boars, deer, they can knock down their tail, but more often they use their teeth – causing a single bite in the leg of the animal. This is the key to success. After all, the “biological weapon” of the Komodo dragon is now in play.
For a long time it was believed that the victim is ultimately killed by pathogens that are in the saliva of the monitor. But in 2009, scientists found that, in addition to the “deadly cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria and viruses in saliva, to which the komodo dragons themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.
The Komodo dragon has two poisonous glands in the lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. These proteins, when ingested into the victim’s body, prevent blood clotting, reduce blood pressure, promote muscle paralysis, and promote hypothermia. Everything as a whole leads the victim to shock or a loss of consciousness. The poisonous gland of komodo dragons is more primitive than that of venomous snakes. The gland is located on the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and are not escaped through special channels in venomous teeth, like snakes.
