Are there komodo dragons in Nigeria?

Recently, instablog Naija posted a video of a creature claiming the animal is komodo dragon.

The video was short and may not allow for proper identification of the creature in question, but it couldn’t have been a Komodo dragon.

A Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis) is in the lizard family a very distant relationship of the common agama and a close relation of the Monitor lizard.

Komodos are a very large members of the lizard family. The can grow from nose tip to tail upto 10 feet. They are carnivores and can also be scavengers, picking up dead animals. They are known to attack and kill small and medium sizes mammals and those as large as a full grown cow.

While the laced monitor lizards (Varanus varius) are very common in Nigeria, especially in the swamps, there are no Komodo dragons.

The komodo dragon is endemic to – or can only be found on – the Komodo Island and it’s surroundings in Indonesia.

The only way a Komodo dragon could have come to Nigeria or Badagry, Lagos would be through wildlife trade. It could also have escaped from a zoo. But interest in the animal as exotic pet is not common and currently, there are no known zoo or Terrarium in Nigeria with the Komodo dragon in their inventory.