The rapid growth (and therefore viurlence) of these bacteria was noted by one researcher, Doctor Fredeking, who said: “Normally it takes about three days for a sample of P.

coli, Staphylococcus sp., Providencia sp., Proteus morgani and P. They found 57 different strains of bacteria growing in the mouths of three wild Komodo Dragons including E. Saliva samples were analyzed by researchers at the University of Texas.

The IUCN lists the Dragon as Vulnerable and CITES Appendix I. Continued research has shed even more light on the nature of the Komodo Dragon. Research from the Auffenberg expedition would prove to be enormously influential in raising Komodo Dragons in captivity. During their stay, Walter Auffenberg and his assistant Putra Sastrawan captured and tagged more than 50 Komodo Dragons. A mid-60’s expedition for a long-term study of the Komodo Dragon (feeding behavior, reproduction, body temperature, etc.) was undertaken by the Auffenberg family, who stayed on Komodo Island for 11 months in 1969.

Collecting expeditions stopped abruptly with World War II, but resumed in the 1950s. The Dutch recognized that there were limited numbers of the lizards and outlawed sport hunting and extensive killing for scientific study (the method of the day). Dragons were first recorded by Western scientists in 1910.

Comodo dragon animal