DominiqueE I-Search

Posted by DOMINIQUE_E, 4/30/03 at 10:55:25 AM.

The Story of the Komodo Dragon

• Dominique E
• May 23, 2003
• Lauguage Arts

Those big black eyes, that long wipping tail, the bacteria dripping at the mouth with those sharp teeth, and that long rough skin body, and the long sharp claws that can tare you to peices. You are probally wondering what this animal is, and what is the secret behind this really large lizard. That is why I started a report on them and I've made some questions too: 

1.What past animal did lizards evolve from?

Well... biologists Jared Diamond, Walter Auffenberg and others believe that it's likely the dragons evolved to be so large to better consume the pygmy elephants that used to live in this area. Lizards eating elephants --That's so cool!! 

 2.Why is it that some dragons eat plastic and other waste?

 The dragons are attracted to bright colors, and just say this for an example; there is a green bottle cap on the ground and suppose a monitor comes and eat it. That is just one example of why they ( the monitor liz ard) eat this garbage. Because the lizard thought that the green bottle cap was a big green lettuce.  

3.What are the lizards and dragons diet foods? 

 The lizards diet foods are: The local Timor Deer, a wild pig and the occasional water buffalo. The dragons are both scavengers and predators. Plus the tounge of theirs can pick up a sent of a dead animal even if they a mile away or 2 miles away! The touge just comes out hits the ground and gathers some sent, then it comes back up hits the nose of  the dragon, and the dragon will know that dinner is now sereved!

4.Why is it that lizards are being exticnet?

 The lizards are being exticeneted because the garbage that people throw out there, and because they get in to some chemical stuff and cats, and other wild animals eat them. Sometimes they will get ran over on accident by trucks and cars, and some people will kill them and either add them to there collection or sell their beautiful skin for money. 

5.How can we help save the lizards from extiction?

(You can click on the picture for a larger photograph)

This place right here is called Komodo Dragon country. This is the kind if place that sounds kind of good to me. It sounds good to me because the dragons sound safe and protected. They will be fed and admired by tourists who come just to see the monitor lizards.

So it seems to me that this is the end of my report on the ferice, the pround, the brave, and the... the... well I can't think of any thing else to call this beauty of a lizard... well that is a good one for it, but still let us or me hope that this animal is to feel welcome, respected, fed, caring, and.... and.... ah man now I can't think of what else to say about this portected animal, there I did it again!

My I-Search Bibliography:

I-search Journal

Posted by DOMINIQUE_E, 3/11/03 at 8:20:16 AM.

3-13-03

Day 1: today i had made a new story. it's called i-search checklist, meaning in which we had to copy ms. turnbull's example of it and we got to choose our own color.

3-14-03

Day 2: today i had been looking for an article on my topic which is about lizards. i still haven't found one yet but i'm still not giving up.

3-25-03

Day 3: today we a little trouble with the computer. it sometimes wouldn't load or it will say "CANNOT FIND SERVER" or "THIS PAGE CANNOT BE DISPLAYED". but anywayz, i had read some articles on animals. it was cool.

4-4-03

Day 4: today i was looking for more print sources on lizards/komodo dragons. i had found a whole buch thougth.

4-7-03

Day 5: today i was looking at books and magazines.i had went to the internet on amazon to start lookin for books like harry potter. but it was just that it didn't have the stuff i was looking for like the year it was published. but i had found some other stuff though.

4-8-03

Day 6: today i was trying to figure out what the heck was going on with my lizard/Komodo Dragon Article. it was just that every time i had clicked on it, it had went to THIS PAGE CANNOT BE DISPLAYED, and i just kept on clicking on back or refresh but nothing worked. man i was mad! but instead i had went to my i-search bibliography and started working on it. 

4-9-03

Day 7: today i was linking my i-search interview to my name page and trying to answer the questions, but, i didn't know who to interview for a topic about lizards/Komodo Dragons. i dont know where to go, or which person to interview, or how to contact that person. but i know that somewhere in the world that someone will know.

Day 7 (cont'd): today i had figured out who to interview for my topic. my answer was a zoo keeper at the S.F Zoo. they have plenty of animals there and most of them are lizards or amphibians.

4-23-03

Day 8: today i had made or tpyed my iq's (interview questions) zoo keeper(s). well i don't really have that much to type though but i got to go. later days!

5-6-03

Day 9: today i had typed an introduction in my i-search report. we couldn't introduce our selfs but we had to get our readers atteion thougth. well.... later days.

5-16-03

Day 10: today i just went on sites and looking for notes and pictures of the Komodo Dragons. i found some really good notes i just have to create a new story and that's it.

5-20-03

Day 11: today i'm not feeling well i have a real big head ach from all thbe nosie. i didn't have enouh energy at gym and my friends were really worried about me they thought that i was dying.

5-22-03

Day 12:today i was just finding some pictures for my Komodo Dragon Article. and i was just find some more notes on the dragon. i also found this great story on the dragon by some guy, but i had broke up his paragraph into some short notes that won't be too long or too short.

5-23-03

Day 13: who ever knew that finding a National Geographic Magazine on Komodo Dragons is so hard to find. i had went to www.nationalgeographic.com and all they had was just this game about what was on the komodo dragons back. It was just a bunch of ticks on the monitor lizard.

Notes

Posted by DOMINIQUE_E, 5/15/03 at 10:32:38 AM.

Notes on the Komodo Dragons:

1.All the large mammals on these islands seem to have been introduced by people sometime in the last few hundred years.

2.So what did those really big Komodo dragons eat a million or two years ago? Biologists Jared Diamond, Walter Auffenberg and others believe that it's likely the dragons evolved to be so large to better consume the pygmy elephants that used to live in this area.

3.Komodo Dragons live on Komodo Island south of Indonesia

4.Komodo Dragons are the biggest lizards in the world

5.Komodo Dragons smell with their 9-inch tongues

6.Komodo Dragons can take down Water Buffalo 9 times bigger then them and heavier too

7.Komodo Dragons have a poisonous bite

8.The biggest Komodo Dragon gets the biggest part of the carcass of an animal when they kill it

9.Two male Komodo Dragons will get up on their hind legs and push each other like Sumo Wrestlers to show off their strength.

10.The loser doesn't just lose the fight but the winner will break his leg and scratch the losers back.

11.A Komodo Dragons nest will be 12 feet long when she is done digging it and she will be able to turn around in it

12.Baby Komodo Dragons live in trees to avoid getting eaten by their elders, they will eat geckos to survive.

13.The Komodo dragon belongs to the group of animals called reptiles.

14.The Komodo dragon is cold-blooded. It is covered with scales.

15.The babies hatch from eggs, and breathe oxygen from the air.

16.Its relatives are the alligator and the crocodile.

17.The Komodo dragon can be green or yellow, but it is usually sandy brown with dark markings and black scales.

18.The size of the Komodo dragon is 10 feet (Length), the average size is: 8.6 feet (male) and 7.6 feet (female).

19.The Komodo dragon weighs 300 pounds to 365 pounds.

20.Their tails are longer than their bodies. Komodo dragons have claws that are razor sharp.

21.Its teeth are like a saw. It flicks its tongue to taste the air.

22.One female Komodo dragon can lay 28 eggs which will hatch after 8 months.

23.Most Komodo dragons can live for 20 years, but some can live for 100 years.

24.Komodo dragons live in Komodo and the Sunda islands of Indonesia.

25.It lives in the rain forest. It lives in the environment of damp, wet, dark, cool, and warm places. Its territory is as large as the island of Komodo.

26.Komodo dragons eat wild pigs, deer, goats, young buffaloes, horses, horns, monkeys, and other Komodo dragons.

27.Komodo dragons get its food by using the bacteria in its tooth that will kill the prey.

28.The prey will die within one or two days. Komodo dragons are adapted to get its food by using its sharp teeth and by running fast to catch its prey.

29.It can expand its jaw like a snake can. Komodo dragons eat 80% of their own body weight just in 1 meal.

30.Komodo dragons won't just kill an animal, it will usually just look for a dead animal.

31.Komodo dragons protect themselves from the weather by going into holes in rocks.

32.Komodo dragons protect themselves from their enemies by climbing into trees and using their tails for crushing blows.

33.Their enemies are hunters and adult Komodo dragons.

34.The Komodo dragon can climb trees and swim. An 8-foot Komodo dragon can swallow a 33-pound boar whole.

35.It has teeth more like a shark rather than a reptile. It is the largest living lizard on earth. It is the largest monitor lizard.

36.The Komodo dragon can lower its jaw like a snake can.

37.The Komodo dragon is an endangered species. It is a lethal predator.