So it looks like we are at the beginning of another week.  I hope you enjoyed your weekend and are ready for another thrilling week of animal facts.  We are going to start it off by learning a little more about dragons, the Water Dragon, to be specific.  There are two types of Water Dragons – the Australian and Chinese Water Dragon.  I am sure you can guess where each of these different reptiles can be found.  In today’s Wild Fact we will be looking at the species in general with a few specific details about each sub-species.  So let’s get started!

As you can tell by the pictures, the Water Dragon is a large lizard which is native to the forests of Asia and Australia (depending which sub-species we are talking about).  Now from the name, you might think these reptiles live in the water; however, this is not the case.  In fact, they are actually arboreal, which is just a fancy way of saying they spend most of their time hanging out in the trees.  True to their name though, they tend to live close to large bodies of water and will spend a good portion of their time splashing around.  As you can imagine, they Water Dragon is an effective swimmer, that could probably swim circles around me.  The Water Dragon has developed an effective defensive strategy where they will leap off of their branch into the watery depths below.  This allows them to use their swimming abilities to thwart the attempts of would-be predators.

I have mentioned that there is a Chinese Water Dragon and an Australian Water Dragon.  If you only had the opportunity to observe one of these then I would recommend the Chinese Water Dragon since they are typically larger and more colourful than their Australian counterparts. As well, the Asian variety also has a “Third-Eye”, also known as the Pineal Gland, which allows this Dragon to distinguish the difference in light much more effectively.  The Australian Water Dragon does have some powerful legs and sharp claws, which make them more effective climbers but I think a third eye and beautiful colours will trump powerful legs.  What do you think?

Well, it looks like we are at the end of another Wild Fact.  I still have a lot to say about these awesome creatures but I guess it will have to wait for another day.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see all of you tomorrow.