by:
analogkid 3OP
~ 8 years ago
Nov 18, '15 6:57pm
They had to euthanize Smaug; too bad, but understandable.http://abc13.com/news/good-bye-smaug-ill-komodo-dragon-euthanized-at-the-houston-zoo/1089955/ 4951
RIP Smaug.... May you rest peacefully in Komodo Dragon Heaven, with all of the Ostrich Eggs your lil' heart desires...... Komodo Dragon FactsThe Komodo dragon is the largest and heaviest living lizard in the world. Komodo dragons eat almost any kind of meat.Komodo Dragons are easily confused with crocodiles, in fact: They are called the “Ora” or land crocodile by locals.They are able to grow as long as 10 feet and weigh about 300 pounds. They are able to see prey and other objects as far as 985 feet away.This monitors hunting strategy is very simply, it will go for the feet, and bring down the prey. Then it will rip it to pieces.People believe that there are now only 4000 Komodo’s left on the planet.The saliva from a Komodos mouth contains a host of deadly bacteria. In the wild, there are about 4 times as many male Komodos as females. A Komodo will go through about 4 or 5 sets of teeth in his life.The dragon is able to eat about 80% of its weight in one meal.These dragons can run just as fast as we humans can, up to 11 miles an hour, but they tire quickly. Once a female lays her eggs, she never comes back to check up on them.Young Komodo Dragons are able to climb trees, to help protect them, and to feed.The Komodo Dragons ancestors date back over 100 million years.The Komodo Dragon has a long life expectancy of about 50 years.An old belief of the Chinese was that the tail of a dragon, when ground into powder, was a powerful medicine. Some thought that it could even stop a person from growing old! 4951
i don't know about spine issues with giant lizards but obviously they had no other recourse. In the wild he probably would have died from starvation or some other awful thing. This way at least it was quick and painless. 4951