NARRATOR: There is an island
where dragons still roam.
A Jurassic type underworld
where one ancient
warlord still rules.
On Dragon Island, every
day is a fight for supremacy.
Right now, it’s a
kingdom in chaos.
And every
challenger wants to be king.
Deep in the remote
basin of the Pacific Ocean,
lies ’The Ring of Fire.’
Boasting 75% of
the planet’s volcanoes
and 90% of its earthquakes,
it’s one of the harshest
habitats on the planet.
It’s an ancient
kingdom of fire and brimstone.
And it’s the perfect
setting for a tale of dragons.
Within this
restless water-world,
lie the Islands of
Southern Indonesia.
Home to the
Komodo dragon...
’King of Lizards.’
He’s a colossus --
12 feet long and 250 lbs.
An apex predator, stealthy
and persistent on the hunt.
A deadly reptile,
forged by a ruthless habitat.
An armored warrior,
running at 23 miles per hour
with a rapier-like tail.
♪ ♪
But he’s clinging to survival...
only around 5,000
dragons still exist.
Drogo is 20 years old and
he’s in the prime of his life.
He embodies the very
definition of a ’dragon’...
a mythical beast with
a scaly, reptilian body,
a long tail and hooked claws.
Drogo wears the name well.
On this island, being top
dragon is not a birthright.
Drogo will have to
fight for his territory
and his females.
He’s clawed his way to
the top of the food chain,
but is he worthy of
his title as ’King’?
In this kingdom,
territory is everything.
A good plot on the
beach seems idyllic,
but prized real
estate comes at a price
and there are many dragons
muscling in on the waterfront.
Cyclops is the old king.
He dominated this territory for
the past 10 of his 30 years.
Until a younger, stronger rival
knocked him off his throne.
Blind and frail,
he haunts the beach.
He lost his
status and his sight,
and with it, his ability to
compete on a level footing
with his fellow dragons.
Exiled to the outskirts,
he ekes out a
living from scavenging
and he’s spotted
a potential meal,
but he’s not the only one.
In this merciless kingdom,
only the fittest will survive,
and Cyclops has
lost his dragon hustle.
A younger, fitter contender
beats him to the rancid remains.
Like a blind man using a cane,
Cyclops uses his forked tongue
to ’read’ his environment
by tasting the air.
His blind eyes may not
see clearly into his future,
but he’s got 34-million
years of survival
in his past to draw from.
Despite his handicap, this
dragon is built to endure.
It’s the start of a
new era on Dragon Island.
It was Drogo, the
mighty young warrior,
who overthrew the old king,
and he will have to fight to
hold onto his new supremacy.
He’s young and virile and
he’s making his presence felt.
Unlike Cyclops,
Drogo’s pin-sharp eyes
can detect movement
almost 1,000 feet away.
He’s focused on his mission and
he salivates in anticipation.
As a male dragon in
the prime of his life,
he needs to keep an eye
out for the competition.
In these early
days of dominance,
Drogo must keep
the contenders at bay.
Raptor is also
hungry for dominance
brazenly parading
himself on Drogo’s turf.
If Drogo wants to
keep his position,
he’ll need to set a precedent.
♪ ♪
Raptor beats a hasty retreat,
but this is just the
start of the brawling season.
Drogo patrols his home range.
It’s roughly a square mile
of water, beach and forest.
Carrying his heavy
body around takes up energy
and Drogo is on
the hunt for a meal.
His colossal size
is no coincidence,
it’s known as
’Island Gigantism.’
As the only apex
predators on the island
the dragons have
thrived unchecked for millennia
and evolved into
supersized, salivating hulks.
Big predators need big prey
and this dragon is equipped
with a deadly hunting strategy.
His streaming drool is
laced with a toxic venom
potent enough to kill
prey 15 times his size,
with a single bite.
A giant lizard with a strike as
lethal as the deadliest snakes.
He is the ultimate reptile.
♪ ♪
It’s early morning and Drogo
lingers in his dragon’s lair.
Like all reptiles, he relies on
warmth to fire up his system.
At night, the
drop in temperature
confines him to
his leafy burrow,
which maintains
his body heat.
At dawn, the rising
sun is his lifeline.
As the sun strikes the island,
it fires up Drogo’s engine.
And today there’s an
enticing scent in the air.
The cool of early
morning is the best time
for a 250 pound
dragon to climb a mountain.
This is one of the
hottest habitats on the planet
and Drogo lives in
constant danger of overheating.
Life is a fine line
-- even for a dragon.
High on the hilltop,
Drogo postures like
the king of the world.
From here, he can
survey his territory...
and scout the talent.
It’s mating season
and he’s already caught
the eye of a receptive female.
The climb was worth the energy.
But he’ll have to
fight for her favor.
Drogo has his
sights set on a potential mate,
but she’s giving
him the runaround.
Females in oestrus excrete
a pheromone in their feces,
it’s this telltale perfume that
lured Drogo to the hilltop.
Only dominant
males get to breed...
and he will have to prove
himself to this dragon princess.
They size each other up.
Drogo pursues her
with mammal-like devotion.
He just needs to get
close enough to pin her down.
She rejects him.
His proposition rebuffed,
Drogo will need to fight
harder to prove his worth.
His mating attempt
shot down in flames,
Drogo has other
needs to satisfy...
it’s dinner time.
Life on Dragon Island dances
to the tune of the tides.
Isolated from the mainland,
its inhabitants are a
melting pot of species
who thrive in exile with
little competition for food.
This niche
environment is protected
by a great ’moat’ of ocean
and its creatures have
evolved unique adaptations
which enable them to
survive in isolation.
Tiny fiddler crabs
communicate by sign language
using an enlarged claw.
It’s not very dexterous though,
so they use their
smaller claw to feed.
Serpent starfish use
their highly mobile arms
to snake their
way over the rocks
when the tide
leaves them exposed.
There are scavengers around,
just waiting for the ebb
to uncover a
banquet of opportunity.
Wild boars forage for
exposed bounty from the sea.
Their large heads
act like plows,
while thick, muscular necks
allow them to
upturn heavy rocks.
They’re not the
only beachcombers.
There’s a hungry
dragon on the prowl...
and the hogs are caught in
Drogo’s salivating spotlight.
He might not run as
fast as a pig on the hoof,
but to Drogo, everything
that moves is potential prey.
The sun has reached its zenith
and temperatures
are over 100 degrees.
It’s bad news for
an 8-foot predator
who can’t
control his thermostat.
But today the heat is
working to his advantage;
the forest is a
sanctuary from the searing sun
and it’s also a good place
for predators to go undercover.
Deer and boar take
refuge in the shade.
There’s another
link in this food-chain.
Grassy ravens are never
far from the action.
The island’s tricksters,
they are masters of mischief
with the cunning to
adapt to any environment
and seize every
opportunity for a free ride.
[bird squaking]
Drogo steadily
tracks his quarry.
Dragon tactics are
stealth, not speed,
and he has a
foolproof navigation system.
His long, forked tongue
is a highly
specialized meal-seeking device
which directs him
towards his target.
The tips of his
tongue sample the air
and collect scent particles.
Every time he retracts it,
his tongue
disperses the particles
onto the Jacobson’s organ,
where the scent is analyzed.
The tongue tips also tell
him the direction of his prey.
More particles
on the right tip
means the prey is to
his right and vice versa.
Simple and effective.
By swinging his
head left to right,
he can sample
large quantities of air
and ’taste’ a carcass
up to 2.5 miles away.
Persistence is the
name of this game.
Komodo dragons are
often referred to as
’The Land Crocodile,’
and true to this nickname,
he has the patience and cunning
of those iconic reptiles.
On the outside, he’s
just a modern-day dragon,
with normal, mundane
needs to breed and feed.
[deer moos]
[boar snorts]
♪ ♪
Despite Drogo’s stealth tactics,
his cover’s been blown.
The snitch?
The Timor deer,
a fellow forest dweller
and a staple on Drogo’s menu.
The boar escapes,
but for Drogo, it’s
all in a day’s work.
This raven won’t get
his free meal today.
Drogo continues
on his daily patrol.
Perseverance is
the dragon’s way.
He’s got company.
Raptor has been tailing him.
Both males are fired
up with testosterone,
but they take their time
to size each other up.
These ritual
scuffles will determine
which dragon gets mating rights,
so that only the
strongest genes prevail.
♪ ♪
[growling]
♪ ♪
Drogo wins this round,
leaving Raptor to eat his dust,
but this duel won’t be
settled by just one encounter.
Just like ancient
gladiators draped in chainmail,
Komodo dragons are covered
in a complex suit
of armored scales
with bony deposits
for extra protection,
but it’s still
not impenetrable.
Parasitic ticks
bulging with dragon blood
have plundered the
chinks in Drogo’s armor.
For the most part,
they go unnoticed,
but around his
mouth, ears and feet,
his scales are
connected to nerves
which allow him to
feel his environment.
To complete his suit of armor,
he has long hooked claws;
part hoof and part nail,
and they are
perfect tools for plunder.
His powerful, muscular tail
-- the length of his body --
is both a weapon and a rudder.
Dragons are excellent swimmers.
Using their muscular tails
they glide through the water,
like a streamlined torpedo.
They can swim up to
a third of a mile away
in search of food and mates.
They have
mastered their environment
to keep a stronghold
over this ruthless habitat.
Undaunted by his giant cousin,
Draco Volans is a smaller lizard
in this neck of the woods.
Unlike Drogo, he doesn’t
waste energy on the hunt.
His ingenious
camouflage allows him
to sit and wait for
prey to come to him...
ambushing them
with his sticky tongue.
He’s saving his
energy to attract a mate
and it seems there is potential
on a neighboring tree.
It’s show time.
[♪ salsa music plays ♪]
He displays his
bright yellow dewlap...
this makes him look larger
and more attractive
to his potential mate.
If that’s not enough,
he adds ’Lizard push-ups’
bobbing his
entire body up and down
to ’beef up’ his display.
He’s caught her attention...
and he’s still got a
trump card up his sleeve.
He can fly.
Folds of skin attached to
his ribs spread out as wings.
It’s an impressive display,
and the flying
lizard gets the girl.
It’s time for Drogo
to fulfill his purpose.
Breeding season is in full swing
and he needs to find a mate.
But there’s still one
dragon challenging his mission.
Raptor is also
vying for mating rights.
It’s time for Drogo to chase off
his nemesis once and for all.
He bears down on
his young rival.
Raptor flicks his
tail in defiance.
♪ ♪
It’s a bad move
when there’s testosterone-fueled
dragon on your heels.
Drogo and Raptor
are head to head.
Days of antagonism have
reached a tipping point...
and it’s time to
declare a winner.
♪ ♪
[growling]
A female enters
the battleground,
fueling the incentive.
[growling]
♪ ♪
[growling]
It’s a clash of the
titans, but Drogo dominates.
He’s earned his mating rights
and he wastes no time
in seeking out his prize.
Beneath the scaly exterior,
the hooked claws and the
calculating death stares,
there is a tender
underbelly to the beast.
It’s time for Drogo to
trade his gladiator role
for a more sensitive persona.
[♪ soft music ♪]
He follows his potential
mate towards the forest.
Drogo starts his courtship
by flicking his
tongue over the female.
This time he’s not rejected.
He stimulates her with chemical
secretions produced in his skin
and carefully mounts her.
He must restrain her completely
or risk her vicious claws.
Male dragons have a pair of
penises known as hemipenes.
When she is ready, Drogo
lifts her tail with his,
and extends one of his
two penises into her vent.
His genes secured,
the dragons part ways,
each with an
important legacy to fulfill.
Outside the shelter
of the mystical forest,
the harsh midday sun
beats down without mercy.
It’s a tough neighborhood
and no place for old kings.
Cyclops is suffering and his
weakness doesn’t go unnoticed.
Younger,
stronger males taunt him
and take advantage of
his frail state.
He’s under constant dominance
from the beach dragons
and he’s too weak
to scavenge for food.
As the old king
slips into anonymity
his usurper is gaining prowess.
Drogo has fought off all
his contenders to the throne
and he’s making his mark
in the kingdom of dragons.
But to stay battle ready
he needs to refuel his tanks.
It’s time to change his
hunting strategy.
Although surrounded by
crystal clear, Pacific waters,
Dragon Island is a
thirsty habitat --
it’s dry for eight
months of the year.
Clean, fresh drinking
water is only available
in a few precious pools
and it’s here that all
the island’s inhabitants
must congregate to hydrate.
Drogo has an advantage --
he can store water
when he gets the chance.
He takes a long drink.
It should be the ’neutral zone,’
but there are no rules
in this wild kingdom.
Drogo is an apex predator
and this is the perfect
place for a midday ambush.
♪ ♪
Centuries of co-habitation
have dulled the
deer’s flight response
to their slow,
lumbering dragon neighbors.
Drogo is hard-wired to kill,
but he’s not built to
chase down a fleet-footed deer.
He relies on his venom
to deliver a
slow-release assassination.
He just needs to get close
enough to deliver the blow.
The deer has a
window to drink his fill
before Drogo
reaches striking range,
but he’s made a deadly mistake.
Drogo is stealthily
gaining ground on his quarry.
The deer lets his down his
guard and it’s the wrong move.
Dragons are
anything but predictable.
All Drogo needs to secure
his meal is one single bite.
♪ ♪
A successful strike,
unleashes his venom ducts.
As his teeth
sink into the flesh,
pressure on his gums
forces toxic proteins
through the ducts
and up to the surface.
The venom seeps
into the bloodstream.
It contains anti-coagulants
which will stop the
deer’s blood from clotting.
The victim limps off in shock.
He’s made a getaway, but
his days are numbered --
he will eventually
bleed to death.
This slow release death
sentence means dragons can hunt
the large prey they need
to sustain their huge bodies.
Now all Drogo has to do is to
wait and that’s his strong suit.
[flies buzzing]
The deadly drool
has run its course
and the smell of carrion
lures Drogo to his feast.
His 60 serrated teeth are
an inch long and replaceable.
They’re designed to
rip and tear into flesh,
but they’re no good for chewing.
He needs to
swallow his food whole.
His streaming
saliva acts as a lubricant
to help him swallow
large chunks of meat.
A breathing tube under his
tongue connects to his lungs
so he can breathe while
ingesting big portions.
Other dragons get
wind of the free meal.
[flies buzzing]
Although Drogo could
consume this entire carcass,
he is willing to share as
long as he gets to eat first.
Specialized muscles and movable
joints in the jaw and throat
allow the dragons to open
their jaws unusually wide
while their
stomachs expand easily
to accept the incoming meal.
They eat everything;
bones, hooves, horns and skin,
and can consume 80% of their
own body weight in one sitting.
For Drogo that would be
almost 200lbs of meat --
or 800 quarter-pounders.
The meal will keep
him going for a week.
His belly full to bursting,
Drogo retreats to the beach.
Lying in the sun
will speed up digestion --
his large meal will poison
him if it rots in his gut.
[bird squaking]
While the other
dragons have been feasting,
Cyclops has lost his
battle against starvation.
Alone in his wasteland,
he waits as the
darkness reels him in.
♪ ♪
Life on Dragon Island
has a constant ebb and flow.
Just as the tides
advance and recede,
so the dragon
population shrinks and grows.
♪ ♪
Today there is one less
king on the Island of Dragons.
But the tide is turning...
and in its wake a new
generation of dragons emerge.
The baby dragons
weigh less than 3.5 ounces
and measure 16 inches.
They stick to the forested areas
and climb trees to
stow away from predators,
especially their own kind.
Dragons are cannibals
and the new hatchlings are
now part of the food chain.
Only 20% will
make it to adulthood,
but for now Drogo has
succeeded in his mission
and secured his lineage.
As dawn breaks on
a new generation,
Drogo resumes his daily routine.
Here is the
largest living lizard.
A patient predator undaunted by
the size and speed of his prey.
A venomous dragon, who
has carved out his niche
amongst ancient
volcanoes and tempestuous seas.
An armored gladiator who
has beaten down his foes.
A giant with the agility to
climb a tree and swim an ocean.
♪ ♪
He’s taken his throne in
the harsh Land of the Dragons,
and he has earned his title...
he is the Lizard King.
