Phoenix Zoo welcomes new Komodo dragon

• The Komodo dragon is the Phoenix Zoo's newest resident, bringing back to life an exhibit left vacant last fall when the zoo's two elderly dragons Ivan and Gaia died
• The dragon enclosure, which conveys a tropical feel with grasses and a pond, cost about $1.2 million to create
• MacLeod is on loan from the San Antonio Zoo but the zoo has youngsters on deck to follow in his footsteps
• Keeping a Komodo dragon exhibit is not a mere crowd pleaser — with just about 3,000 to 5,000 left in the wild, the Phoenix dragon serves as an ambassador to his dwindling kind

Meet MacLeod, the lizard.

His species is special. Komodo dragons can run 13 miles per hour. Swim for miles. Kill with one bite. And they knows no other natural predators – except for other, bigger lizards that don't mind a little cannibalism.

You may not want to run into the likes of him in the wild – but the world's largest lizard is a crowd favorite when tucked behind panes of glass.

The Komodo dragon is the Phoenix Zoo's newest resident, bringing back to life an exhibit left vacant last fall when the zoo's two elderly dragons, Ivan and Gaia, died. The Cincinnati-born pair had lived at the Phoenix Zoo since the Land of the Dragons exhibit opened in 2009.

Beloved by zoo staff for their personalities, the siblings had drawn quite the audience, attracting 10,000 people to welcome them when they arrived in 2009. They did not fit the perception that dragons are fierce, dangerous creatures, wrote Curator Drew Foster. Zoo staff likened Ivan to a puppy dog who liked to have his back scratched and said Gaia teased her brother. They died at 19.

The dragon enclosure evokes the tropics with grasses and a pond. Guests can watch MacLeod sunbathe or swim, inspect every inch of his new home or even study his audience through the glass.

"There is an allure with the reputation that the lizards have," Foster said.

MacLeod is on loan from the San Antonio Zoo but the zoo has youngsters on deck to follow in his footsteps. The exhibit brought in two baby Komodo dragons about a year ago from Memphis, Tenn. but they are too agile for MacLeod's enclosure. Young Komodo dragons spend much of their time in the trees to avoid larger, hungry dragons on the ground that weigh too much to climb. The babies could scuttle up a tree and flee the exhibit so the zoo keeps them indoors.

But keeping a Komodo dragon exhibit is not a mere crowd pleaser — with just about 3,000 to 5,000 left in the wild, MacLeod serves as an ambassador to his dwindling kind, Foster said.

The Phoenix Zoo donates to the Komodo Dragon Species Survival Plan, which funds research and habitat conservation for the thousands of dragons left.

Komodo Dragons live on small islands in Indonesia, amid the Ring of Fire, named for a string of volcanoes and earthquake activity lining the Pacific Ocean. The volatility of their landscape leaves them especially vulnerable to climate change, sea level rise and other natural disasters.

Did you know?

• Komodo dragons are the largest lizards on the globe, capable of weighing more than 300 pounds and stretching 10 feet long.

• Komodo dragons are excellent swimmers: they will swim through the ocean to other islands.

• Komodo dragons will approach humans looking for food in their habitat looking for food hand outs.

• A Komodo dragon's sense of smell can detect dead animals from five miles away.

• The species don't cover a lot of ground: they live in an area about as small as the state of Rhode Island.

• Komodo dragons will eat various meats, by either finding carcasses or stalking anything from small rodents to water buffaloes. The dragons' bite leaves a toxic venom that will eventually kill its prey.

• While the dragons can run at 13 miles per hour, they mostly hunt by stalking their prey for hours.

• Komodo dragons in the wild are known to gorge themselves on large animals so much that they don't need to eat for another month.

Sources: Phoenix Zoo staff, Phoenix Zoo website and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park website