Here there be dragons Mar 6, 2021

Here there be dragons

Welcome to Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon—a monitor lizard that evolved in this insular environment to be much larger "scale" than its fellows. Found only on the islands we see here—Komodo and Padar—and a handful of others nearby, it"s the biggest lizard walking the Earth today. Not only walking but sprinting: Since adult Komodo dragons often prey on swift Timor deer, you"ll sometimes see a dragon in a dead sprint after its would-be dinner, reaching up to 13 miles an hour.

© Thrithot/Adobe Stock

palette

Today in History

Mar 6, 2018Celebrating National Dentist Day
Mar 6, 2019Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Mar 6, 2022Great cormorants
Mar 6, 2023Icelandic horses, Iceland
Mar 6, 2024Wahclella Falls, Oregon
Mar 6, 2025Desert bighorn sheep in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Mar 6, 2026The Wave, Vejle, Denmark

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 11, 2024World Migratory Bird Day
Jun 17, 2026Tremola Road on the Saint Gotthard Pass in Airolo, Switzerland
Mar 25, 2024Happy Holi!
Nov 17, 2024Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Feb 28, 2025Tibetan New Year
Oct 17, 2025Rock River Falls, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
May 3, 2019A night of art and culture
Dec 24, 2019Dashing through the snow
Jun 1, 2020The largest living organism on Earth
Mar 7, 2021Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
Oct 1, 2020A lunar lantern celebration
Feb 26, 2019Snow on the temple
Apr 13, 2022Mitsumata blossoms
Jan 20, 2022Penguin Awareness Day
May 28, 2020Old man s whiskers growing wild
Feb 17, 2025Presidents Day
Jul 26, 2019The party’s just starting
Feb 10, 2021A throng of ice and spires
Feb 23, 2019A view from the top
Feb 13, 2021Four little birds sitting in a tree…
May 12, 2020Nursing the world to health
May 7, 2026Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
Oct 10, 2020Birds of a feather
Jun 5, 2022World Environment Day
Feb 19, 2026Dragons Eye, Uttakleiv Beach, Norway
Nov 26, 2021Native American Heritage Day
Aug 5, 2023Atlantic puffin, Iceland
May 25, 2022The Alhambra in Granada, Spain
Jun 12, 2018Celebrating Helsinki’s birthday at the Kiasma Museum
Nov 6, 2022New York City Marathon