Komodo Dragon Wanders Into Office, Attacks Two Wildlife Park Employees in Indonesia

CBS News ^ | February 6, 2013

[nickcarraway]

A park official says two people have been hospitalized after being attacked by a giant komodo dragon that wandered into the office of a wildlife park in eastern Indonesia.

An official at Komodo National Park, Heru Rudiharto, said Wednesday the 6 1/2-foot-long komodo dragon attacked a park ranger after walking into the office on Tuesday. It then attacked another park employee who came to help him. Both were badly bitten and were evacuated to a hospital on Bali Island.

Endangered Komodo dragons can grow longer than 10 feet. Fewer than 4,000 are believed to be alive. They are found in the wild primarily on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca.

According to National Geographic, komodo dragons "will eat almost anything, including carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons, and even large water buffalo and humans."

In 2009, two Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia.

[Nuc 1.1]

Bet you would need more than an AR15. A 450 Marlin or better would be more to my liking.

[ansel12]

I saw the movie.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Shoot him Lisbeth!!!!

[stickywillie]

what would happen in the windy city if you made a 911 call on one of these dragons?

[stickywillie]

what would happen in the windy city if you made a 911 call on one of these dragons?

[The Cajun]

Bet you would need more than an AR15. A 450 Marlin or better would be more to my liking.

One well placed shot from a .22 will stop a 12'+ gator.

If their physiology is somewhat the same, should be enough.
It's what the gator hunters use.

However when I cut the tall grass on my bayou side property, I do carry a .44 Magnum Redhawk :)

[Red_Devil 232]

Why so lethal? Fry, a herpetologist at the University of Queensland, has discovered the secret is the mouth the dragons are venomous. When he scanned a dragon’s head with an MRI, he found in its gums a series of glands that produce venom. It is secreted into the saliva and enters the wound created by the dragon’s sawlike teeth. This venom, Fry has shown, prevents blood clotting and causes muscles around blood vessels to relax, hastening blood loss and leading to a dangerous drop in blood pressure. “This is a sustained march toward unconsciousness,” says Fry.

[GeronL]

You better say it has an NRA bumper sticker on it, they’d probably get there fast.

[null and void]

I wonder if it could have medicinal uses like gila monster spit (Byetta)?

[Nuc 1.1]

Not being a hunter or woods wise I would feel better with heavier firepower. The Red Hawk 44 is a nice piece. I also suspect the dragon is heavier built than a gator. Besides I have wanted a 450 Marlin for a while now. So a dragon on the loose even in Indonesia would be a good excuse. ;D)

[Ransomed]

That’s interesting. I’ve heard the one about the t-rex simply following smaller pack hunting dino’s around and moving them off their kills.

Here’s the original ‘giant’ komodo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalania

They think it might have only gone extinct 40,000 years ago.

Freegards

[Chad N. Freud]

Our Barack is worse than its bite.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

In the fictional autobiography of the Emperor Clausius (I CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves), Claudius tells how a far away king sent a Komodo dragon to Caligula in ROME.

[Chad N. Freud]

In two of this week’s thrillers
Venomous, primitive killers
Caused rangers to be airlifted to Bali
And French special forces to Mali.

[Chad N. Freud]

“Ay-yi-yi! [or whatever the Indonesian equivalent is] . . . It told you to toss me that KIMONO!”

[EEGator]

I believe they’ve been found to be venomous.

[xp38]

First Komodo story in while. Last one I recall was the one about Sharon Stone and her ex hubby and the Komodo. We probably need a Komodo ping list. It would probably be a low volume one.

[nickcarraway]

I have to admit, she came up with an ingenious way to kill her husband. It didn’t work, but she was never charged either.

[Mase]

The bacteria involved with them is extremely dangerous

Although the Komodo Dragon carries an incredible variety of bacteria in its mouth, it's the venom they inject into their victims when they bite that makes them so lethal.

[muir_redwoods]

One of the scariest animals alive, IMHO