Comments on: Dragon Kills Boy

By: folcrom

folcrom — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:31:54 +0000

The komodo dragon generally relies on the bacterial toxicity of its bite to down its prey. What it bites, generally dies later from the infection that develops and the komodo simply follows it prey until it drops. Not a nice way to go.

Now, if only someone could photograph a Megalania Prisca. Every now and then one of these Australian/New Guinean Cryptids gets spotted. The Megalania is monstrous, up to 30 feet long. They make the komodo look small. I think a few more Varanids will be discovered over the coming years.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 04:01:10 +0000

Speaking of long, painful infections, I recall reading about a man bitten by a Komodo Dragon who dies from his infected wound…7 years later. The wound never healed, and continued to weep pus for all that time. Either he had some pretty top-notch antibiotics that the bacteria only gradually became resistant to, or he had one heckuva immune system!

By: DARHOP

DARHOP — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:05:30 +0000

Poor Kid. Imagine his fear? What a bummer. You would think he would of been a little more cautious, being a villager, and knowing them things are out there. I know when ya gotta go ya gotta go, but man. Poor Kid.

By: Bob Michaels

Bob Michaels — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:33:06 +0000

Komodo Dragons natural prey are deer, goats and pig, approach with caution. Homo Florensis, the little people lived on the same island with these big blokes, perhaps they are still around in the forests of Indonesia.

It’s not the first human fatality and it won’t be the last.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:22:36 +0000

Well that’s certainly something to keep in mind the next time I’m taking a bathroom break in the bushes in Indonesia. Seriously, though, I hope this incident does not spark a panic and cause people to think that these animals are all man hunters. As human settlements come into closer contact with nature, there are bound to be a few run ins with the wildlife, but remember that these are not evil monsters out to get us. They are just animals trying to survive in this world just like us. More than the occassional attack on humans, I would dread the day where there is no worry about these incidents because there are no more creatures like this left.

By: Rapscallion

Rapscallion — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:34:04 +0000

Its a shame someone had to die in an encounter with these modern day “dragons”. Even a dragon ignorant american such as myself knows you should be on guard at all times in thier territory. From what im led to believe, the dragons have a rather filthy mouth, and thier bloodstreams contain countless bacteria fatal to humankind. I understand they “gum” severely before biting an animal, and in so doing, they produce blood around and inside the mouth, thus making a kind of toxic soup, a plethora of unpleasant germs/bacteria which they use to disable and kill prey. I myself wouldnt venture even remotely close to any big lizard i saw that was staring intently and me, and drooling alot. Course, as i said, shame a person, let alone a young one, fell victim to an attack by the dragon, but in retrospect, we might at least take confort in thinking it was the violence of the mauling that killed the child, and not the slow unpleasant alternative, toxic shock.
Rap

By: DWA

DWA — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:00:43 +0000

I’m not sure whether or not the only comfort I can truly take in this life is that I’m not at the top of the food chain everywhere I go.

But I suspect it to be true.