Dragon says hello

Paignton Zoo's Komodo is the nearest dragon for hundreds of miles

A six-year-old Komodo dragon is being introduced to the public at Paignton Zoo on Friday after arriving earlier in the week from Barcelona. She's settled into the crocodile swamp, although is keeping a safe distance from the crocs. And whilst she can eat deer or buffalo, she's getting a different bespoke diet at the zoo. Although not yet fully grown, she does become the biggest lizard at the zoo.

The giant lizard doesn't breathe fire, but in other respects she's very impressive. Curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates Luke Harding says: "Most people only know Komodo dragons from TV documentaries, and that’s not the whole story by any means. They have different life phases - for the first few years they mainly live up trees. The babies are beautiful, with yellow spots that help camouflage them in the canopy.”

Curiously, while the adults look formidable, the newly-hatched young are defenceless and vulnerable, measuring just 40 centimetres and weighing 100 grams. They live in trees to avoid predators – including cannibalistic adult dragons. They take 8 or 9 years to mature and can live for up to 30 years.

A member of the monitor lizard family, the Komodo dragon is found on a handful of Indonesian islands; Komodo is one of them. It grows to a length of 3 metres and can weigh up to 70 kilos. The IUCN classes the species as Vulnerable.

An adult Komodo dragon is a formidable creature, capable of running in short bursts of up to 20kph (12mph). It has strong front claws and a powerful tail and can detect carrion from up to 6 miles.