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Komodo Dragons Kill Indonesian Fisherman
CNN ^ | March 24, 2009 | Barry Neild

Posted on 03/24/2009 5:07:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway

An Indonesian fisherman has been killed by Komodo dragons after he was attacked while trespassing on a remote island in search of fruit, officials said Tuesday.

Komodo dragons kill their prey with an extremely toxic bite.

Muhamad Anwar, 32, bled to death on his way to hospital after being mauled by the reptiles at Loh Sriaya, in eastern Indonesia's Komodo National Park, the park's general manager Fransiskus Harum told CNN.

"The fisherman was inside the park when he went looking for sugar-apples. The area was forbidden for people to enter as there are a lot of wild dragons," Harum said.

Other fisherman took Anwar to a clinic on nearby Flores Island, east of Bali, but he was declared dead on arrival, he added.

Komodo dragons, the world's heaviest lizards, can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length and have a toxic bite that they use to kill prey such as buffalo, returning to feast when the animal succumbs to the poison.

Despite their ungainly appearance, the carnivorous reptiles can run as fast as a dog in short bursts, jump up on their hind legs, and kill animals with a blow of their powerful tails.

Attacks on humans are rare, but Monday's incident is the latest in a series in which the monster lizards -- which have forked tongues and fearsome claws --have killed or injured people.

Last month a park ranger survived after a Komodo dragon climbed the ladder into his hut and savaged his hand and foot. In 2007 an eight-year-old boy died after being mauled.

(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Food; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: indonesia; komododragon; maul; wildlife


1 posted on 03/24/2009 5:07:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Well, it gives his kids a good story for show and tell.


2 posted on 03/24/2009 5:11:55 PM PDT by Krankor (Vitajex, whatcha doin' to me.)
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To: nickcarraway
"The fisherman was inside the park when he went looking for sugar-apples. The area was forbidden for people to enter as there are a lot of wild dragons,"

Pursuing "forbidden fruit" has its risks.

3 posted on 03/24/2009 5:12:45 PM PDT by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: PBRSTREETGANG

Especially when the tree has SERPENTS.


4 posted on 03/24/2009 5:14:14 PM PDT by omega4179 (Don't spread my wealth, spread my work ethic.)
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To: nickcarraway
... have a toxic bite that they use to kill prey such as buffalo, returning to feast when the animal succumbs to the poison ...

"Poison"? More like a bio weapon. Komodo's mouths are the most bacterially dangerous mouths on the planet.

5 posted on 03/24/2009 5:27:51 PM PDT by LiberConservative ("Get your gun and bring in the cat")
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To: nickcarraway

I’ve always suspected their cuddly looks were just a deception.


6 posted on 03/24/2009 5:30:32 PM PDT by Yardstick
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To: nickcarraway
Nice pix. Didn't Barry Soetoro go to school in Indonesia? I notice a family resemblance.

Here's a bit of nostalgia from 0bama's book regarding his mother's second husband:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545455,BSX-News-wotreegg09.stng

"With Lolo (Soetoro), I learned how to eat small green chili peppers raw with dinner (plenty of rice), and away from the dinner table, I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy)," Obama wrote. "LIke many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths. He explained that a man took on the powers of whatever he ate: One day soon, he promised, he would bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share."

Pity it wasn't Komodo Dragon. Or perhaps it was.

7 posted on 03/24/2009 5:32:08 PM PDT by Veto! (Opinions freely dispensed as advice)
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To: nickcarraway

Don’t pull on Superman’s cape, don’t spit into the wind, and don’t gather sugar-apples on a Komodo dragon controlled island.


8 posted on 03/24/2009 5:32:20 PM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
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To: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
Don’t pull on Superman’s cape, don’t spit into the wind, and don’t gather sugar-apples on a Komodo dragon controlled island.
9 posted on 03/24/2009 5:37:21 PM PDT by nickcarraway (Are the Good Times Really Over?)
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To: Veto!

And just like Komodo dragons, Obama speaks also with poisonous tongue.


10 posted on 03/24/2009 5:46:59 PM PDT by max americana
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To: nickcarraway

Bush’s fault.


11 posted on 03/24/2009 5:58:26 PM PDT by matt1234
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To: nickcarraway

Don’t laugh too hard, we have some of these critters running around loose in Florida!


12 posted on 03/26/2009 8:47:35 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla ("men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters." -- Edmund Burke)
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