Why female Komodo dragons die young
On average, female Komodo dragons live only half as long as males do, and scientists say the lizards’ hard work may explain why.
The females’ physically demanding tasks include building huge nests and guarding eggs for up to six months.
“Males and females start off at the same size until they reach sexual maturity at around seven years of age. From then on females grow slower, shorter, and die younger,” says University of Melbourne’s Tim Jessop, who studied 400 individual Komodo dragons over 10 years.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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