Watch a Komodo Dragon Swallow a Shark Whole Like It Was an Appetizer

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You know you can slurp down food when your appetite is ravenous. But the Komodo dragon in the video below puts any human to shame. This one scarfs down a whole shark in a matter of minutes!

What Do Komodo Dragons Eat?

Before reaching adulthood, Komodo dragons eat rotting flesh. After they grow into adults, they can go after larger prey like goats and deer. They also eat pigs and even eat their own if they can overpower them and fit them in their large, merciless mouths.

These massive reptiles can grow so big that they take down huge prey like water buffalo and horses. When kept in zoo environments, their diet is a bit more conservative. They eat rodents like mice and rats as well as small mammals like rabbits. Their diet is prepared by staff to ensure they get the meaty foods they need.

How Do Komodo Dragons Digest Their Food?

After surprising their prey and swallowing them whole, the digestive process for Komodo dragons begins. Since they don’t break their food down into chunks before consuming it, the digestion process takes several weeks to complete. Komodo dragons are capable of eating prey that weighs up to 80% of its own body weight!

When they’ve gotten the last bit of a prey animal in their bellies, they go soak up the sun. With the heat, they help their body’s digestive process. Bacteria and stomach acid do the dirty work, breaking down the meal the Komodo just ate. When something isn’t digestible, the dragon vomits a pellet that contains all those bits it wasn’t able to process.

Is it Normal for Komodo Dragons to Eat Sharks?

The Komodo dragon is an opportunistic predator, they prey on anything that comes across its vicinity. This includes both living and deceased individuals of its species as well as humans. Considering its island habitat, it’s reasonable to assume that the Komodo Dragon might also consume marine creatures like sharks.

Komodo Swallows Shark Whole

When the video below starts, there’s a Komodo dragon scarfing down a shark on the sand. It looks like the water may have receded, leaving the shark to die and get eaten by the opportunistic dragon.

The Komodo starts with a bite to the shark’s sandy head. In three quick bites, the Komodo adjusts the limp shark’s body so that it can suck it down like a huge noodle. After the third bite, it sucks the shark in with another huge bite and its body starts disappearing into the Komodo’s mouth. Three more bites and all that’s hanging out is the shark’s tail!

What is the Biggest Animal a Komodo Dragon Can Eat?

Komodo dragons eat many different kinds of meat, and they find food by scavenging for dead animals or hunting creatures ranging from small rodents to large water buffalo. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat what they can find. When they’re young, they mostly eat small lizards, insects, snakes, and birds.

As they grow up, they start eating bigger things like goats, pigs, deer, and even smaller Komodo dragons.

These dragons are strong enough to bring down large animals like horses and even water buffalo.

In zoos, they usually get a diet of insects, mice, rats, rabbits, and other types of meaty foods for carnivores.

How Large Do Komodo Dragons Get?

The Komodo dragon is the largest and heaviest living lizard on the planet, with an average weight of around 154 pounds, although they can reach weights of over 300 pounds. Like many animals, the males tend to weigh more than the females and fully grown adults can reach 10 feet in length. The largest Komodo dragon ever recorded was 10.3 feet and weighed 366 pounds.