Apr 2, 2006

Komodo

Behold the komodo dragon. These ugly, abominable lizards are thankfully island-locked. They can get to be 9 feet long and over 250 lbs. That's not enough, though. Their saliva is so nasty that it causes lethal infections in any creature that manages to escape its bite. I'll be taking my vaction on a different Indonesian island. Thanks.

Photo courtesy:
M. Shane Glass.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're really quite efficient. IF an animals does survive the attack, then the infections do kill the attacked. What's amazing is that these lizards will pick up the scent of decaying animals for miles, and it's not just one dragon that comes feasting-- it's usually several. The males will also battle each other for mates. How? By more or less boxing. They use their massive tails as support, standing on their hind legs. First male that tumbles to the ground looses. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me. :)

Raging Wombat said...

The fighting would be fascinating to watch. I wonder if there are any clips online.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is that I hope Dad doesn't see this blog post. It will remind him all over again of our Uncle Timmy and how we lost him when he was mowing in the backyard.

Raging Wombat said...

Actually, I posted this one specifically to traumatize dad.