Komodo Dragons

I've visited four zoos that have Komodo dragons.

Columbus, July 2019

Minnesota, December 2019

Cincinnati, December 2021

I continue to have trouble with white balance when shooting certain reptiles indoors. It's not the reptiles' fault; it's the enclosures' lighting. I'm never satisfied with my pictures of the Malagasy leaf-tailed gecko at the Columbus Zoo, for example. I've tried cloudy, shade, fluorescent, and specific color temperatures, but none gave me colors on the camera's screen that matched what I saw.

At the Toledo Zoo, in March this year (2025), a Komodo dragon was at his or her posing rock and looking fine. The rocks and dirt are sort of tan, but my first shot didn't look quite right. I have no patience for this, so I tried only two other settings before moving on.

Daylight

4000K (I admit I rather like this one.)

Auto

Toledo has at least two of the world's largest lizards. Here's the other one:

40 minutes later...

 Back to the first one:

I've adjusted a focus setting, so videos are more in-focus over all, but the lens hunts every time it refocuses, which I find annoying.

2023 Part 3: Reptiles

smooth-fronted caiman (Columbus Zoo)

Weber's sailfin lizard (Columbus Zoo)

west African dwarf crocodile (Minnesota Zoo)

Komodo dragon (Toledo Zoo)

western diamondback rattlesnake (Toledo Zoo)

southwestern speckled rattlesnake (Toledo Zoo). I took a group of pictures of this snake, trying to get the color right and couldn't do it. The snake is not white, but this is the coolest of the group.

Monitors

Monitor lizards come in a range of sizes but are very similar in terms of body shape.

Mertens' water monitor (Columbus Zoo). I often find this one basking like this. Sometimes it's in its pool.

black tree monitor (Toledo Zoo)

black tree monitor (Toledo Zoo)

Komodo dragon (Columbus Zoo). This one's a good eight feet long.

Komodo dragon (Minnesota Zoo). I wish I'd made a note of the skull's size. Maybe six inches long.

Komodo dragon (Toledo Zoo)

Asian or common water monitor (Columbus Zoo). Or Khomain's water monitor.

September 4, 2019

I went to the Columbus Zoo September 4th. The most interesting thing was a laughing kookaburra managing its meal.

This went on for a couple of minutes, and it's the way a kookaburra kills its larger prey or breaks its bones for easier swallowing. I missed the decisive moment but caught the end:

A laughing kookaburra has swallowed a mouse.

cabbage white butterfly, I think

white-handed gibbon

Komodo dragon

A Dalmatian pelican. These birds are huge.

Probably a Mallard. It's in the same pond as the pelicans.

I kind of freaked-out when I saw this animal approaching the pelican pond. Asian small-clawed otters are right next door, and I thought one had escaped. The animal quickly entered the water and swam, submerged, to an island. (I followed its progress thanks to bubbles.) It climbed out, and I decided its longish, pointed snout meant it was not an otter. A weasel? Back at home, I found the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' nifty web pages devoted to Ohio's wildlife, and those pages and other sites told me the animal is an American mink.

American mink, an uninvited zoo guest

Asian small-clawed otters having a snack

I need to learn not to put the camera away until I've left all the animals behind. I was in the Congo area when I decided I was done, so I stowed the camera (I did not have my bag this time, so "stowing" in this instance consisted of moving the camera from bouncing on my belly to over my shoulder), and walked toward the exit past the Caribbean flamingos. I have over 130 pictures of flamingos and am not sure I need more, but I decided to take a look because they're often amusing. There was a small crowd (of people) at the far end of the enclosure, so I decided to see what was going on. The reward was three flamingo chicks, all about 45 days old.

This one's already got the hang of it.

 

I don't know if the birds are imprinted on keepers, but there were three keepers and three flamingos.

Reptiles

I've never been interested in reptiles, and I've rarely visited them in zoos. I've got nothing against them; it's just that mammals and birds are more appealing to me. However, after my first visit to the reptile building at the Columbus Zoo and a Grand Cayman iguana in particular, I'm happy to try to get compelling shots of reptiles.

This picture looks a little weird/interesting at the top because of reflections from the surface of the water.

Siebenrock's snake-necked turtle

sc

scrub python

Grand Cayman (blue) iguana

black-tailed rattlesnake

I had assumed that basilisks are magical beasts that show up in places like Harry Potter books, but here's a real one.

green basilisk

Aldabra giant tortoise

The lighting in the Komodo dragon exhibit is difficult for me to handle, mainly because of reflections off the glass, so here's a picture of a statue of one. 

Komodo dragon statue

I do my best to identify animals correctly, and I rely mostly on zoo signage. I have a bit of trouble when there are multiple snake or turtle species in the same enclosure.

My first choice for a link to more information about an animal is a page on the website of the zoo where I took the photo. If I can't find a page there, I choose a page on the site of a nonprofit organization such as the Smithsonian National Zoo, a university, or an international wildlife organization.