The little ones love to climb

It's a little difficult to picture Komodo dragons as small creatures because most visitors to the zoo only ever see them as adults. However, they begin as little replicas of the original thing, just like most infants do. The young prefer to stay up in the trees until they are completely grown, whilst the adults frequently spend their time in burrows out of the heat.

When young, they can climb trees with ease using their powerful claws, dive up to 4.5 m, and run quickly in short bursts up to 20 km/h. The Komodo dragon can stand on its hind legs and use its tail as support to grab out-of-reach prey. As it becomes bigger, it mostly uses its claws as weapons because it can't climb due to its enormous size.

They are adept climbers and spend a lot of time in the trees during their first few years of life thanks to their razor-sharp claws. Because Komodo dragons are cannibalistic and will eat their infants if nothing else is available—or just if they feel like it—the young don't accompany their parents in the burrows. As they become larger and heavier, adults have a tougher time climbing the taller trees. Therefore, if you find yourself on an island with these creatures, you might be able to climb a tree to escape a large one only to come across a large group of other dragons of varying sizes that are eager to devour your flesh.