Looking for something to do in the last couple of days of the Golden Week holiday? Why not head to Shanghai Zoo, where a pair of Komodo dragons is making their debut from Wednesday.
It is the very first time for the world's largest lizard to be seen in Shanghai. The pair, a male and female, are about three years old and are one-and-a-half meters long.
Endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Padar and Gili Motang, the zoo has prepared an area simulating their living environment in the wild, and they will be fed chicken, beef and rats.
Here are some more Komodo dragon facts (yup, we're excited):
By far the largest lizards on Earth, Komodo dragons can grow up to three meters long, approximately the length of a small car, and weigh up to 135 kilograms
They have a venomous bite, possessing two glands in their lower jaw which secrete several toxic proteins
Ruthless carnivores, they can eat nearly their entire body weight in just one sitting
They have an excellent sense of smell, and use their forked tongues to detect rotting flesh from four kilometers away
They are fast, and can run 19 kilometers per hour
They can also swim, and have been spotted kilometers off the shore of their island homes
A member of the monitor lizard family, they are also known as the Komodo monitor (but we'll definitely be sticking with the 'dragon' moniker)
They eat each other; young Komodo dragons are vulnerable and dwell in trees to avoid predators, including cannibalistic adults
Komodo dragons also occasionally attack humans, and will eat them if successful!
See a listing for Shanghai Zoo
[Cover image via Wiki]
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