Giant Lizard found near Ranchi city of Jharkhand State of India.
by
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
by
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
Recently a giant lizard was caught by the villagers some 30 kilometers from the Ranchi city of Jharkhand State. Such types of lizards are very rare in Jharkhand. Till now only two or three cases have reported from the state. This lizard very much resembles to Komodo Dragon commonly found in Indonesia. The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a species of lizard that inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, and Gili Dasami, in central Indonesia. A member of the monitor lizard family (Varanidae), it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2–3 meters (approximately 6.5–10 ft) and weighing around 70 kilograms (154 lb). Their unusual size is attributed to island gigantism, since there are no other carnivorous animals to fill the niche on the islands where they live, and also to the Komodo dragon's low metabolic rate. As a result of their size, these lizards are apex predators, dominating the ecosystems in which they live. Although Komodo dragons eat mostly carrion, they will also hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. There are only an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 of these monitor lizards living today.
The evolutionary development of the Komodo dragon started with the Varanus genus, which originated in Asia about 40 million years ago and migrated to Australia. Around 15 million years ago, a collision between Australia and Southeast Asia allowed the Varanids to move into what is now the Indonesian archipelago. The Komodo dragon is believed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors 4 million years ago, extending their range to as far east as the island of Timor. The Ice Age and its dramatic sea level changes brought the islands that the Komodo dragons inhabited into their present locations, isolating them in their present range.
The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places, and typically lives in dry open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day, although it exhibits some nocturnal activity.
Komodo dragons also possess virulent bacteria in their saliva, of which more than 28 Gram-negative and 29 Gram-positive strains have been isolated. These bacteria cause septicemia in their victim; if an initial bite does not kill the prey animal and it escapes, it will commonly succumb within a week to the resulting infection.
As it is their Mating season which occurs between May and August, it has been found in the village. From several days it is heavily raining in Jharkhand State which may have forced this reptile to enter the village for search of food and shelter.
Four feet long reptile appears to be a baby lizard. It was held in captivity for one month.
The villagers have fed this carnivorous lizard chicks, apart from several frogs and eggs.
Now it has been handed over to the forest department to be housed in Zoological park near Ranchi city where it will be the second of its kind.
The evolutionary development of the Komodo dragon started with the Varanus genus, which originated in Asia about 40 million years ago and migrated to Australia. Around 15 million years ago, a collision between Australia and Southeast Asia allowed the Varanids to move into what is now the Indonesian archipelago. The Komodo dragon is believed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors 4 million years ago, extending their range to as far east as the island of Timor. The Ice Age and its dramatic sea level changes brought the islands that the Komodo dragons inhabited into their present locations, isolating them in their present range.
The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places, and typically lives in dry open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day, although it exhibits some nocturnal activity.
Komodo dragons also possess virulent bacteria in their saliva, of which more than 28 Gram-negative and 29 Gram-positive strains have been isolated. These bacteria cause septicemia in their victim; if an initial bite does not kill the prey animal and it escapes, it will commonly succumb within a week to the resulting infection.
As it is their Mating season which occurs between May and August, it has been found in the village. From several days it is heavily raining in Jharkhand State which may have forced this reptile to enter the village for search of food and shelter.
Four feet long reptile appears to be a baby lizard. It was held in captivity for one month.
The villagers have fed this carnivorous lizard chicks, apart from several frogs and eggs.
Now it has been handed over to the forest department to be housed in Zoological park near Ranchi city where it will be the second of its kind.
hello sir,
ReplyDeletetoday afternoon i found a giant lizard in my backyard exactly similar to the one in your pictures. im sreejith mohan, leave in kottayam district of kerala. it was sitting at the place where my mother used to wash dishes. is it dangerous? i have filmed the beast.
pls reply at sreejithmohanv85@gmail.com
Even i have spotted this many-a-times and mistaken it to be a "Vish-Cobra" until your blog explained me about it. Anyways I live near the banks of river Yamuna in Agra and have seen this creature many times. But i dont know if its dangerous or poisionous.
ReplyDeleteIf you could throw some light on this it would be great.
Hello
ReplyDeleteI live at the outskirts of Patna, Bihar, between MANER and BIHTA at a village called ANANDPUR.
Last year my dogs killed three of thes lizards which are commonly found here and this year, in fact just 2 days ago we sighted some more on our campus. I thought they were Komodo Dragons.. Pl visit http://bishopsheritageschool.blogspot.com/ to see pictures I have taken 2 days ago.
RAY BARNES
sir,
ReplyDeleteI found this type of lizard inside my home. please help me to get it out of my house.
Hello Sir,
ReplyDeleteI have too spotted a giant lizard in Morni Hills Haryana....
I even have even captured it in my camera. It was about 5-6Ft in lenght.
Here is the pic. Is it Komodo?
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150120109780814&set=a.393759365813.170169.542740813&theater
Dear Anshul I am not able to see the photographs mentioned by you.
ReplyDeleteDear Anshul I am not able to see the photographs mentioned by you.
ReplyDelete