The Ultimate Komodo Dragon's Bite Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
1 min
The Ultimate Komodo Dragon's Bite Quiz
Image: TIZIANA FABI/Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Learn about Komodo dragons, and your next nightmare may feature one. Don't worry, there are only 4,000 Komodos in the wild, so your chances of encountering one are slim. Take this quiz to see how much you know about the bite of a Komodo dragon.
Where is Rinca Island?
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Rinca Island, in Indonesia, is one of the last places Komodo dragons still roam.

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When did people discover than Komodo dragons were real and not a myth?
1850
1911
2005
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

During World War I a pilot crashed on Rinca Island and lived to tell about Komodo dragons.

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What reputation do Komodo dragons have?
sweet
docile
fierce
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Komodo dragons are known to be fierce.

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What may a Komodo dragon devour?
rubber tire
human
palm tree
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Komodo dragon may devour, unprovoked, a human.

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What is 10 percent of a wild Komodo's diet?
another Komodo
coconuts
grasses
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Komodo may feast on another Komodo, accounting for 10 percent of its diet.

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What animal kingdom species do Komodos belong to?
lizard
fox
manatee
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Komodo are the largest of the lizard species.

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How much was the largest recorded Komodo weight?
125 pounds
250 pounds
366 pounds
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The largest Komodo weight was 366 pounds (166 kilos) and the length was 10 feet (3 meters).

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What do some scientists think about the 366 pound Komodo?
had a big meal before weigh-in
scale mishap
reliable data
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some say the dragon must have had a big meal before the weigh-in. It takes only about 20 minutes for a Komodo to eat 80 percent of its body weight.

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How does a Komodo swallow huge pieces of food?
flexible jaw
flexible skull
both answers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Komodo has a flexible jaw and skull, like a snake.

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What is the scientific name for a virgin birth?
parthenogenesis
disambiguation
neither answer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Parthenogenesis is the name for a virgin birth. A Komodo dragon in a U.K. zoo laid eggs without any male contact.

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How many Komodos exist in the wild?
2000
3000
4000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are about 4,000 Komodo dragons roaming in the wild.

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How many teeth does the Komodo have?
32
45
60
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Komodo has close to 60 serrated teeth.

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If an animal attacked by a Komodo does not die immediately, what does the Komodo do?
follow the attacked animal
attack a different animal
neither answer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Komodo will follow the smell of its next meal for miles, and dine after its prey dies.

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Why do animals that have been attacked by the Komodo usually die within days, if not immediately?
venom
bacteria
both answers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Venom in a Komodo's bite may be the reason for the resulting death. Some scientists also believe that a Komodo's bacteria is the cause for the eventual death of its prey.

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What does a Komodo do with the hair of its prey?
eat it
use for bedding
nothing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They eat it, and the bones, hooves and horns.

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What happens after a Komodo dines on the hair, bones, hooves and horns of its prey?
cough it up
regurgitate it
digest it
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Komodos do not digest these items, so they cough them up in the form of a gastric pellet.

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How would you describe a Komodo's gastric pellet?
horrible-smelling
sweet-smelling
sour-smelling
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A gastric pellet is a horrible-smelling ball.

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Why is there medical interest in the Komodo dragon?
immune to its poison
new class of antibiotics
both answers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Komodo is immune to its own poison. Study of its blood could lead to a discovery of a new class of antibiotics.

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If an animal is bitten by a cobra, how long may it live?
minutes
hours
days
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A cobra's bite will be fatal within minutes.

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Which animal has the most potent bite?
Komodo
cobra
both answers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Komodo's victim will die within days and the cobra's victim in minutes, but the bite of each animal is lethal.

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You Got:
/20
TIZIANA FABI/Stringer/AFP/Getty Images