Descended from dinosaurs,
the Komodo dragon
and the crocodile
are some of the biggest,
baddest cold-blooded
animals alive today.
If they were to cross paths,
it wouldn't be a
friendly family get-together.
Find out on this royal reptile rumble.
Tonight's contenders hail from very
different parts of the world,
so the chance of them going
toe-to-toe isn't very likely.
But in the VS ring,
anything goes.
Let's take a closer look
at these fighters.
At almost 3 m (9 ft) long
and weighing in at about
90 kg (200 lb)
It's the
This contender is a unique animal.
Of the 3,000-plus species of
lizards alive today,
the Komodo dragon is the largest.
He’s truly one of a kind,
as Komodos only live on the
five islands of Indonesia's
Komodo Dragon National Park.
They've also got a nickname around
the ring as
grave robbers.
Komodo dragons are able to smell
dead bodies as far as
10 km (6 m) away.
Their heightened sensory power
helps Komodo dragons find and dig up
the recently deceased
so they can
feed on their rotting flesh.
Now that's a
seriously hardcore reputation,
but is it enough to
scare off our next fighter?
He grows up to almost twice
the length of his competition at
almost 6 m (19 ft) long
and weighs over
900 kg (2,000 lb).
You know him. You love him.
And hot off last week's win,
it's the
Crocodiles have been around
for thousands of years.
They have 23 species now,
but there were many more during
the Cretaceous period.
They're semi-aquatic
and like to hunt in the water.
Able to hold their breath underwater
for an hour,
these creatures really blend
into their environment.
With the Komodo dragon
taking the land
and the crocodile taking the water,
let's see who's going to
get this fight started!
With his heightened sense of smell,
the Komodo dragon's firey yellow
forked tongue taste-tests
the air and senses any rotting flesh.
The coast looks clear.
Meanwhile, the crocodile has been
hiding in plain sight
since before this fight began.
He's patient and sneaky,
blending into his environment
and looking like a floating log.
Crocodiles have slow metabolisms
and can go for months without food.
So this contender won't have any
trouble waiting for the
right moment to strike.
Woah he's a fast one!
This crafty croc used his ability to
wait for the perfect
moment to attack,
and by using that advantage
he takes the first round.
The Komodo dragon instantly
gnashes his teeth
at the oncoming croc.
His measly maximum bite force is only
about 100 kPa (300 psi).
That's tanked by the crocodile's
massive choppers,
which can clamp down at up to
34,5,00 kPa (5,000 psi).
But the Komodo dragon has
a secret weapon.
While his bite lacks strength,
it makes up for it
in venom!
As they use their shark-like teeth to
shred their victims' skins and muscles,
the venom infects the wounds
and causes the prey to bleed
without stopping,
this causes shock and kills
the prey within a day.
Yeesh.
Although crocodiles are used to
hunting venomous creatures
like snakes,
this adversary isn't some
slithery lightweight,
it's a big bad Komodo dragon.
He's biting into the crocodile,
injecting his venom!
Round 2 goes to the Komodo dragon.
But he's gonna have to work hard to
make it out of this fight on top.
This fight isn't over yet.
And even if the dragon
doesn't survive it,
his venom could take its toll on the
crocodile within the next day,
making the outcome of this fight a
post mortem win for
the Komodo dragon.
Let's see how our fearsome fighters
fare in round three.
Komodo dragons have a pretty fast
running speed of over
21 km/h (13 mph),
meaning this fighter could outrun the
crocodile's top speed of just under
18 km/h (11 mph).
But the crocodile has the
home-field advantage.
In this watery arena,
the croc can swim at
32 km/h (20 mph).
The croc uses it to go in for the finish.
Ouch!
The Komodo dragon
is down for the count.
The winner of Round 3
and the fight is the crocodile!
He earned the title of
World's Baddest Reptile.
The croc's stealthy attack
landed the first bite,
and its enormous brute force
strength overpowered his opponent.
Would a Komodo dragon fare better
against another reptile?
Well see the Komodo go up against
an anaconda next time on