logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
27m 34s

Tooth and Claw: Komodo dragon

Bbc World Service
About this episode

With nicknames like ‘prehistoric monster’ and ‘living dinosaur’, the Komodo dragon has been well and truly judged by its cover. Its gigantic size, razor sharp teeth and deadly attacking power has earned it a vicious reputation. But beneath the scales of this solitary beast are fascinating tales of rapid healing, decoy nests, and virgin births. And as climate change threatens its native Indonesia, can this hostile reptile adapt to living in closer quarters? Adam Hart and guests dig into how a lonely life may be putting the Komodo dragon at risk...

Deni Purwandana, program co-ordinator for the Komodo Survival Program in Komodo National Park, and Dr Chris Michaels, team leader of Reptiles and Amphibians at London Zoo.

Up next
Jul 7
Tooth and Claw: Killer Whales
Investigating the black-and-white apex predator of the sea – the killer whale! Able to predate even great white sharks, this marine mammal is the largest member of the dolphin family. From tropical seas, to the Arctic and Antarctic, killer whales (or orcas) are found across the w ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 30
The Life Scientific - Tim Peake
What's it like living underwater for two weeks? What's the trickiest part of training to be an astronaut? What are the most memorable sights you see from space? Several extreme questions, all of which can be answered by one man: Major Tim Peake. After a childhood packed with outd ... Show More
26m 29s
Jun 3
How does heat affect our health?
What effect will warming temperatures have on health? One place to look for answers is Bulgaria. In the summer of 2023, Bulgaria experienced numerous heatwaves, leading to the country experiencing one of the highest rates of heat mortality in Europe. But how are these numbers cal ... Show More
49m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2010
Those Crazy Komodos
Located in Indonesia, Komodo dragons are one of nature's fiercest living reptiles. They're also the world's largest lizard. Tune in as Robert and Allison investigate the unique lifestyle -- and brutal dining habits -- of the Komodo dragon. Learn more about your ad-choices at http ... Show More
15m 57s
Sep 2020
Special Episode: Karate-Kicking Komodo Dragons
These reptiles have some pretty cool tricks up their sleeve to catch prey and to get away from their predators. Plus a story about a very hungry and quick-moving komodo! 
4m 19s
Jun 2022
Black Water - Australia Crocodile Attack
Australia has garnered a reputation over the years as home to some of the deadliest animals in the world. If you swim in the ocean you might encounter a golf-ball sized blue ring octopus with a venomous bite, or the severe sting of the box jellyfish, whose tentacles can stretch t ... Show More
26m 5s
Dec 2021
Wild Inside: Jungle Royalty - The Jaguar
Wild Inside embarks on something we hardly ever witness – a look inside some of nature’s most wondrous animals. Its a rare chance to delve deep into some enigmatic and very different wild animals – from a reptile, to a mammal to a fish – unravelling the intricate internal complex ... Show More
29m 8s
Nov 2020
The Strange Tail of Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus has long been a superstar among dinosaur fans, with its massive alligator-like body and a huge “sail” of skin running the length of its spine. Though the fossil was unearthed a century ago, scientists hadn’t been able to say exactly what it looked like because only a ... Show More
31m 46s
Sep 2021
Playback: The Frozen Zoo
San Diego is home to the world’s first frozen zoo—a genetic library where scientists are racing to bank the tissues and stem cells of disappearing animals. As scientists begin to clone endangered species, we revisit an episode from our archives that delves into what conservation ... Show More
28m 59s
Dec 2019
The Frozen Zoo
Right now, one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Conservation scientists are doing whatever they can to save them, or at least of piece of them. For the last 45 years, a team of researchers at the San Diego Zoo has been freezing the cells of endange ... Show More
28m 14s
May 2019
Jurassic Squawk
"Is there is any way of knowing what noises, if any, dinosaurs would have made?" asks Freddie Quinn, aged 8 from Cambridge in New Zealand.From Jurassic Park to Walking with Dinosaurs, the roars of gigantic dinosaurs like T.Rex are designed to evoke fear and terror.But did dinosau ... Show More
37m 14s
Sep 2021
The Evolution of Crocodiles
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable diversity of the animals that dominated life on land in the Triassic, before the rise of the dinosaurs in the Jurassic, and whose descendants are often described wrongly as 'living fossils'. For tens of millions of years, the ancesto ... Show More
53m 7s