Photo of Komodo dragon biting the head of its own kind and the truth behind it

The moment a Komodo dragon appeared to be biting the entire head of a fellow in the herd shocked many people .

A photo of a Komodo dragon seemingly biting the head of its fellow dragon. (Photo: Andrey Gudkov).

The Komodo dragon (scientific name: Varanus komodoensis ) is an exceptionally large lizard found only on a few islands in Indonesia. They are known for their ferocity and voracious appetite, swallowing their prey whole if necessary.

In some cases, Komodo dragons can even eat smaller members of their species when their hunger reaches its peak.

A photo taken by 44-year-old photographer Andrey Gudkov captured the moment a Komodo dragon appeared to be biting the entire head of another dragon, leaving viewers stunned.

However, the truth of the photo may surprise you.

According to Gudkov, the smaller Komodo dragon was not a victim at all, but was simply trying to stick its head and mouth into its "friend" to grab scraps of meat from a deer they had previously torn apart .

Three Komodo dragons fight over pieces of meat from a deer they killed earlier (Photo: Andrey Gudkov).

However, this action is also considered extremely dangerous , because Komodo dragons, as mentioned, are ferocious animals, and can be ready to attack their own kind when there is a dispute over territory or food sources.

Luckily for the gluttonous Komodo dragon, its "friend" seemed to be in a pretty good mood, and didn't want things to get any worse.

Scientific literature suggests that Komodo dragons have protein-based venom secreted from two glands in their lower jaw. Not only that, even the Komodo dragon's saliva contains up to 50 different types of bacteria.

Normally, just one bite from this dragon can poison its prey and kill it before it can be swallowed whole. However, the Komodo dragon itself is immune to the toxins it produces.

Komodo dragons are voracious eaters, eating up to 80% of their body weight in a single meal. After eating, Komodo dragons often drag themselves to a sunny location to speed up digestion. This is because the food in their stomachs can rot and poison the dragon if left too long.

However, due to their voracious nature, combined with a shrinking habitat, from having a fairly large population of up to thousands, Komodo dragons are now facing the risk of extinction.