SOUTHEAST ASIAN BLOGGERS NETWORK

Saturday, August 11, 2007

The KOMODO DRAGONS of INDONESIA







The Komodo Dragon (known locally as Ora or Buaja darat) is the world's largest and heaviest lizards. It can only be found in Indonesia mainly in the islands of Komodo, Rintja, Padar, and Flores. The outside world found the Komodo dragons only after WW1 when a pilot survived a plane crash and swam to Komodo Island.*very Hollywood, eh?*

Komodos can grow more than 10 feet long and can weigh up to 350 lbs but despite its size, it is very agile and can run faster than an Olympic sprinter. *Imagine it running after you! Waaaahhhh!* Komodos can live between 20 to 40 years so if it didn’t catch you now – maybe next time.

Mysterious stories have been surfacing about these amazing creatures lately. A female dragon in the London Zoo laid fertile eggs in April 2006 despite not having seen a male for 2-and-half years! *Think Godzilla fertilizing itself! Grrrrowwlll!*

The Komodos are voracious carnivores. One eye-witness account said that a 100 lbs dragon ate a 90 lbs pig in 20 minutes! *so you pigs out there…be careful* It is comparable to a 100 lbs person eating 350 BigMacs in 20 minutes! And here’s the kicker; Komodos are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything it can bully like smaller fellow-dragons and…*hold your breath*... "injured humans”. So when you find yourself injured in Komodo Island – good luck to you.


Although often regarded as pests, they are NOT a serious threat to humans.*unless you’re foolish enough to shake your hairy ass in their territory* The Indonesian government has made the islands of Padar and Rintja into nature reserves for both the lizard and its prey. Only 1,000 to 5,000 of these dragons are living today calling us to protect their specie that we humans jeopardized in the first place.


The Komodo Dragons of Indonesia. Pride of Southeast Asia.


****



--Pisanu

4 Comments:

JustinG said...

i've always been amazed by the komodo dragon since i was a child. there's something ancient and majestic about the way it looks. that's just my impression, i've never really seen a live one before.

Anonymous said...

The Komodo is meant to have the breath of a thousand camels, and its saliva is deadlier than its bite. Such a magnificent, although mysterious animal, and worthy of protection.

Xanderj said...

@dan... me too! they are the closest thing to the mythical dragons, if ever they sprout wings and fly and are very very hungry, God bless to all those unfortunate prey!!

@Pisanu.. if i'm not mistaken, that self fertilization thing is called parthenogenesis, female reptiles and amphibians can do that

Anonymous said...

SUPERBLY WRITTEN! You can make boring science sounds like fun. Informative and fun read! I like this one and the Halog Bay post. Wow! you really got talent.

Related Posts with Thumbnails