2 Komodo dragons kill man
in eastern Indonesia
Two Komodo dragons mauled a
fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia, police and witnesses
said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks on humans by the
world's largest lizard species.
Police Sgt. Kosmas Jalang said
31-year-old Muhamad Anwar was attacked on Komodo, one of four
islands where the giant reptile is found in the wild, minutes after
he fell out of a sugar-apple tree on Monday.
He was bleeding badly from bites
to his hands, body, legs and neck after two lizards, waiting below,
attacked him, according to a neighbor, Theresia Tawa. He died at a
clinic on the neighboring island of Flores soon after.
Attacks on humans by Komodo
dragons _ said to number at less than 4,000 in the wild _ are rare,
but seem to have increased in recent years.
An 8-year-old boy was killed in
2007 _ the first recorded deadly attack on a human by one of the
endangered lizards in three decades. A park ranger narrowly
survived after one of the animals entered his hut last month and
started biting his hands and legs.
There have been several other
attacks in recent months, according to Metro TV.
The reptiles, which can grow up to
10 feet long (three meters) and weigh as much as 150 pounds (70
kilograms), have shark-like serrated teeth and a bite that can be
deadly. Its saliva contains roughly 50 different known bacteria
strains, so infection is a risk.
Komodos can be found in the wild
on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca. Tiny numbers
also can be found on Flores.
