Posted on Sep 5, 2021
Climate Change Is Threatening Komodo Dragons, Earth's Largest Living Lizards
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https://www.npr.org/2021/09/04/ [login to see] /climate-change-endangered-komodo-dragons-largest-lizards-iucn
Scaly and with forked tongues, Komodo dragons are the largest lizards to still walk the Earth.
But their days here may be numbered.
A new report from an international biodiversity conservation organization says the fearsome reptiles are edging closer to global extinction.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List, an assessment of the health of tens of thousands of species across the globe, Komodo dragons have gone from "vulnerable" to "endangered."
Why is the Komodo dragon — or Varanus komodoensis — so threatened? Climate change.
Rising global temperatures and higher sea levels, IUCN says, will reduce the Komodo dragon's habitat by at least 30% over the next 45 years.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Dr. Andrew Terry, conservation director of the Zoological Society of London.
Scaly and with forked tongues, Komodo dragons are the largest lizards to still walk the Earth.
But their days here may be numbered.
A new report from an international biodiversity conservation organization says the fearsome reptiles are edging closer to global extinction.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List, an assessment of the health of tens of thousands of species across the globe, Komodo dragons have gone from "vulnerable" to "endangered."
Why is the Komodo dragon — or Varanus komodoensis — so threatened? Climate change.
Rising global temperatures and higher sea levels, IUCN says, will reduce the Komodo dragon's habitat by at least 30% over the next 45 years.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Dr. Andrew Terry, conservation director of the Zoological Society of London.
Climate Change Is Threatening Komodo Dragons, Earth's Largest Living Lizards
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Climate Change
Wildlife
Climate Change Wildlife
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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Since Komodo Dragons have been "around" in some form or another since long before Man, I don't think a mere 2 degrees F rise in Global Temp in 100 years is gonna affect the Komodo's outlook on life.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-origin-of-the-komodo-dragon-17655352/#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%20three%20years%2C%20we%27ve%20unearthed%20numerous,bones%20of%20present-day%20Komodo%20dragons%2C%20they%20were%20identical.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-origin-of-the-komodo-dragon-17655352/#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%20three%20years%2C%20we%27ve%20unearthed%20numerous,bones%20of%20present-day%20Komodo%20dragons%2C%20they%20were%20identical.
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There is at least one larger lizard out there. He is known as Gojira. Do not get in his way.
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