Crazy videos at site, but maybe not for the squeamish. Or fatphobic.
Posted on 04/17/2023 3:05:52 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Discover the perfect Friday-afternoon rabbit hole of the world's largest lizards gulping down deer, monkeys, pigs, snakes, and sharks. You're welcome
Komodo dragons can hinge their jaws and extend their stomachs to swallow beasts whole. Getty Images SHARE A recent Instagram video showing a Komodo dragon inhaling a “deer” (which appears to actually be a goat) is making the rounds today. And why not? It’s been a long day already. You’ve gotten some work done. You deserve to watch animals gobbling up one another, and this is as good a gobbling as any. It’s better than most, really, because with snakes and alligators swallowing things whole starting to get a little old on social media, a Komodo dragon is a nice change of pace. (I didn’t even know Komodo dragons were such big gulpers, but, then, I don’t know Komodo dragons.)
People who do know them may not be so surprised by the video because it turns out that walking around and slurping up mid- to large-size animals is pretty normal behavior by the world’s biggest lizards. According to the Smithsonian Institute, their jaws hinge, and their stomachs expand, and their powerful mouth and throat muscles allow them to “swallow huge chunks of meat with astonishing rapidity.” Dragons that reach 5 years old or older routinely chug down monkeys, goats, pigs, and Timor deer. They also eat each other. (And as an interesting side note, they are excellent at the opposite of swallowing, too. Komodo dragons can barf up whole animals at a moment’s notice if they need to flee quickly. Why an animal with venomous saliva that can swallow you whole would have to flee, I don’t know. But there it is.)
But no matter how well you know Komodos, this video is amazing to watch. (Now that I think of it, it’s probably the most committed Komodo dragon fans who really eat this stuff up.) In the clip’s initial frame, the giant lizard lunges at the goat, which stumbles in an attempt to get away—and that’s when the dragon clamps down. Then, waddling, he carries his catch over to the edge of some brush, stops, and chug-a-lug-a-lugs the whole goat right down. Mmmm. There’s a moment when the dragon seems to look at the camera, with only the goat’s feet still sticking out of its mouth, as if to say, “Give me a second” or “Yeah, that just happened,” and then he slurps down the feet, and that’s the end of the video—and the goat.
It’s not a long clip, so in case your work day is still dragging on—and to prove that Komodo dragons really do go around gobbling up large animals whole as a regular thing—here’s a nice round-up of Youtube vids showing dragons gulping all kind of things, even a snake and shark.
Watch a Komodo Dragon Devour a Deer
Watch a Komodo Dragon Gobble a Goat This is actually a longer (and flopped) version of the same clip above, in case you wanted more detail.
Watch a Komodo Dragon Swallow a Shark
Watch a Komodo Dragon Pound a Pig, Slurp a Snake, and Much, Much More
Crazy videos at site, but maybe not for the squeamish. Or fatphobic.
Fascinating. And reflective of current events.
One metaphor for the devil devouring another.
“Komodo dragons can hinge their jaws and extend their stomachs to swallow beasts whole.”
Why does that dragon remind me of FedZilla?
I saw one of them almost get Steve Irwin one time. I think he jumped up in a tree or something. Steve... Steve jumped in the tree.
Or not.
But as Ringo Star once said, "U've seen it."
Reminds me of SF Examiner Phil Bronstein. For reasons beyond regular folks’ knowledge, Mr. Bronstein entered the cage of a large Komodo Dragon. He had taken off his shoes, so I imagine his feet appeared to be small animals to the Dragon. The Dragon chomped on the foot. Yet another example of the mental state of liberalism.
Listening to that goat crying was sad :(
I can only assume she gave him that gift as a legal to exit the marriage without a divorce. They say she has the highest IQ of any actress.
🎶 It’s the Circle of Life....🎶
Dear people from Field and Stream. There is a variety of deer in the region named “mouse deer” (Tragulus javanicus) for its diminutive stature. You’re welcome.
My dad told me that during his Army service in the Philippines in WW2, he saw one come running out of the jungle, the dragon went one way, he ran the other…
That thing is awful. I wonder how many people he has swallowed whole?
I want to knrw a girl who could smallow a whole dragon..../S
Looks like Chris Christie and a Philly cheesesteak
Looks like Chris Christie and a Philly cheesesteak
I don’t like that the videographer staked out animals for the lizards.
I watch that video and I immediately think of the movie, The Freshman. Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick.
I be staying away from that lizard.
That is way cool.
Basically Komodos are our only living dinosaurs left. Not the really big ones obviously but the smaller ones....they would fit right in is my guess.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.