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Flying Dragons Of The Jungle

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How does a Draco lizard find a good tree for eating ants and termites when there’s already a territorial Draco lizard in the trees that he’s finding? He can either fight the resident owner or he can escape to another tree. Watch what happens in this clip from the BBC’s new Planet Earth II series with Sir David Attenborough. Plus, more on this fascinating glider:

These so-called flying dragons have a set of elongated ribs, which they can extend and retract. Between these ribs are folds of skin that rest flat against the body when not in use, but act as wings when unfurled, allowing the Draco to catch the wind and glide. The lizards use their long, slender tails to steer themselves, and each sortie can carry them up to 30 feet (9 meters)…

Although Dracos usually avoid going to the ground, females still must descend to deposit eggs. The lizard uses her pointed snout to create a small hole in the ground, where she lays about five eggs and then covers the hole with dirt. She remains on the ground for about 24 hours, fiercely guarding the nest, and then returns to the trees and leaves the eggs to their fate.

Next: More lizards, like this Galápagos Marine Iguana, and more from Planet Earth II: A pygmy three-toed sloth swims & snow leopards send messages.

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