Muhammad LutfiPublic SpeakingMrs. JakubekNovember 17 2010

Informative Speech

Specific Purpose:The specific purpose of my speech is to inform you about Komodo dragons.

Thesis:Indonesia is an archipelago country that has more than 13,000 islands within its territory. But there is only one island known as Komodo Island that has giant monitor lizards named Komodo. I want to show you how this happen and why is this special.

Introduction:I. How many of you know about beast creature called dragons?

A. If you know about dragon, how many of you know because of the Komodo dragons?

B. Islands in middle part of Indonesia are habitats for the heaviest living lizard in the world named Komodo (Varanus komodoensis) therefore the island is known as Komodo Island.

C. According to the official site of Komodo National Park accessed on November 16, 2010 “Komodo dragons are usually 8 feet long but they can grow up to 10 feet in length, the weight of Komodo dragon is 150 pounds in average but they can reach up to 360 pounds. Komodo dragon is the heaviest living lizard in the world.”

D. The International Union of the Conservation Nature states in its report, according to the official website accessed on November 18, 2010 “Komodo dragons as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. They are categorized in vulnerable species”

Transition: Now you know about the species I want to talk about. Let’s discover some more facts that make this dragon special.

II. Now that you know that this dragon is the biggest living lizard in the world, the question is why they are only found in isolated island in Indonesia, where they are actually come from?

A. In an article written in the Live Science by Charles Q. Choi on October 6, 2009 he stated, “Scientists now find that the world’s largest living lizard species, the Komodo dragon, most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to its current home in Indonesia.”

B. Craig jung in his article in San Francisco State University site accessed on November 16, 2010 says, “Komodo migrated to the islands of Flores, Rinca and Gila Motang, which were joined about 10,000 years ago. The island of

Komodo joined the other islands around 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.”

Transition:Now the giant monitor lizards known as Komodo are actually coming from Australia but now Komodo can only be found in Indonesia, the next question would by why Komodo moved to Indonesia?

III. Why Komodo has a bigger size compared to any other living lizard in the world, and why did they move to Indonesia?

A. Scientists believe that Komodo were moving to Indonesia because they faced a threat from other predators or as a specialist hunter of pygmy elephants known as Stegodon. This predator also causes Komodo to evolve and develop a bigger size than any other lizard in the world.

B. Other scientist believed that Komodo also probably react with the weather condition at the time and migrate north to Eastern side of Indonesia.

Transition:Now that we know why Komodo migrate to Indonesia, but the question is how? And why they don’t extinct like their predator Stegodon?

IV. How this dragon survived during an ice age and did a major migration more than 3,300 miles away?

A. Scientist cannot answered to this question, but they believed Komodo has managed the ability to survive to extreme condition so they passed the evolution process during the ice age unlikely many other species who has gone extinct like dinosaurs.

B. Komodo dragons produce venom whose toxins cause the prey animal to go into shock and decrease its blood from clotting. Biologists had believed that bacteria in the dragon's mouth infected the bitten animal and caused its death. Scientists had found some 50 different bacterial strains, at least seven of which are highly septic, in the saliva.

C. Komodo dragons can see objects as far away as 985 feet (300 m), so vision does play a role in hunting, especially as their eyes are better at picking up movement than at discerning stationary objects. Their retinas possess only cones, so they may be able to distinguish color but have poor vision in dim light.

D. The muscles of the Komodo's jaws and throat allow it to swallow huge chunks of meat with astonishing rapidity. Several movable joints, such as the intramandibular hinge, open the lower jaw unusually wide. The stomach expands easily, enabling an adult to consume up to 80 percent of its own body weight in a single meal, which most likely explains some exaggerated claims for immense weights in captured individuals. Komodo can throw up the contents of their stomachs when threatened to reduce their weight in order to flee. The combination of these abilities make Komodo dragons stays on top of food cycle for thousands of years, without any competitor and the abundance of foods Komodo dragons managed to survive during an ice age era.

Transition:As we can see, Komodo is a unique but also a very dangerous animal. How Komodo dragons survival achievements become a very important data for scientist and what are the benefits for the islanders of having Komodo dragons living around?

V. What are the benefits for having Komodo dragons?A. Scientists see it is very important to understand the way Komodo dragons

survive the natural selection process so it can be used to predict future possibility of animal migration.

B. Komodo dragons bring tourism opportunity for the islanders improving the economy and also promote a better development of conservation in the islands.

C. The money earned from tourism is used for education and building more infrastructures that supports a better living for the villagers. The benefits earned by the villagers makes people in Komodo aware about benefits from implementing conservation system for animal in danger and promote the more nature-friendly minded in a rural place like Komodo islands, Indonesia.

Conclusion:Komodo are the living proof of the beauty of nature. As we try to understand nature, they offer us more benefits than we know.

VI. Even in the body of the dangerous beast, there is beauty and lesson human can earn.A. Komodo or Varanus komodoensis is the biggest living lizard on earth. The

IUCN states that Komodo dragons are vulnerable.B. Komodo dragons originally come from Australia and have been living for

more than 20,000 years since the ice age era.C. Komodo dragons bring benefits to society and help local people understand

the importance of conserving endangered species.