Komodo Island Is Closing to Tourists Because People Are Stealing Dragons(travelandleisure.com)
travelandleisure.com
Komodo Island Is Closing to Tourists Because People Are Stealing Dragons
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/indonesia-closing-island-protecting-endangered-komodo-dragons
124 comments
There was a video on /r/natureismetal, I watched about 10 seconds before fast forwarding - bunch of dragons munching on a deer, while it is still alive :(
These are scary animals! They do look cool though
These are scary animals! They do look cool though
Oh yeah, that's this one [0] I believe. I just realized its age-restricted. Definitely NSFW/L!
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPBiLXp5Uj8
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPBiLXp5Uj8
As horrific as that video is, it leaves me with so many questions. How did the deer stay alive so long? Why didn't it scream / fight more? What caused it to kick into survival mode right at the end, seconds before death?
I intentionally didn't link it :(
Warning to those who want to watch : it is horrible, and I just watched a few seconds. Really, don't watch it if you can't see nature in its most raw form
Warning to those who want to watch : it is horrible, and I just watched a few seconds. Really, don't watch it if you can't see nature in its most raw form
Would it not make sense to instead of restrict all extraction put a number < what is extract up for sale each year at an exorbitant price in a highly regulated market?
Then you can fund conservation. It would create an economic incentive for protection, since all parties would want to keep the cash cow alive (instead of this being more of a PR issue, which is how conservation is treated)
In the US, much of national conservation came from hunting. Bullet taxes pay for it.
It's a shame conversations about cold hard realities are driven by ideals and feelings and not trade offs.
Then you can fund conservation. It would create an economic incentive for protection, since all parties would want to keep the cash cow alive (instead of this being more of a PR issue, which is how conservation is treated)
In the US, much of national conservation came from hunting. Bullet taxes pay for it.
It's a shame conversations about cold hard realities are driven by ideals and feelings and not trade offs.
This is exactly how African game reserves work. It’s a fantastic system which provides life changing income to the locals, ensures a large thriving population of animals through conservation funding, cuts down on poaching, and lets trophy hunters partake in their sport legally and ethically. Yet Western animal rights activists lose their minds when Cecil the Lion is killed because they grew up watching Disney movies and have no conception of reality when it comes to conservation. In a perfect world of course we would want to provide funds to protect these animals without the need for killing. But the simple fact is that without managing them like a natural renewable resource akin to forestry, they simply would not exist. The number one way to ensure the survival of an animal species is to make its’ existence financially viable.
Like with nuclear energy, we are stuck with bad options because most people see two options with pros and cons and decide to ignore all cons of one option, and all pros of another.
There is nothing without pros and cons. It's just a matter of picking your poising. Most people don't want to think about that. So we get ruthless manipulators to sway masses. The masses meanwhile are adamant about making decisions and having a voice... while completely ignoring the reality out there. They want decisions made from the vantage point of what they feel with no real care about the real world consequences of what they choose.
There is nothing without pros and cons. It's just a matter of picking your poising. Most people don't want to think about that. So we get ruthless manipulators to sway masses. The masses meanwhile are adamant about making decisions and having a voice... while completely ignoring the reality out there. They want decisions made from the vantage point of what they feel with no real care about the real world consequences of what they choose.
Yeah, like paying protection for your restaurant from time to time to the mobsters instead of being totally burnt down. This way the local economy can rake off knowing you are safe. Win-win.
Hunting also occasionally wipes out species or unbalances local ecosystems, which is pretty unfortunate. We need to be absolutely certain we can control for that before letting people just show up with a rifle and have a good time.
"Keep the cash cow alive" is indeed a good incentive but we have many historical examples of businesses valuing short-term income or success over long-term reliability. You need look no further than Facebook Games (where the big players basically destroyed the viability of a genre entirely, and knowingly did so - there are quotes from high-level Zynga leads on this) or the dust bowl to realize how short-sighted people can be.
It would be great if this could be executed in a way that helps the local economy and preserves the ecosystem, though.
"Keep the cash cow alive" is indeed a good incentive but we have many historical examples of businesses valuing short-term income or success over long-term reliability. You need look no further than Facebook Games (where the big players basically destroyed the viability of a genre entirely, and knowingly did so - there are quotes from high-level Zynga leads on this) or the dust bowl to realize how short-sighted people can be.
It would be great if this could be executed in a way that helps the local economy and preserves the ecosystem, though.
Actually, you only need to compare one option to another. There are plenty of countries that have implemented this successfully.
My post says: we have two options (ideals or pragmatism) and a bunch of people focusing on ideals while the world burns.
To hear a response focus on ideals proves that for most emotions < real life. There are real world options, being used right now. With pros and cons. That are known. But it means taking a cold hard look at things, not feeling good about 'protecting' in an ineffective manner.
My post says: we have two options (ideals or pragmatism) and a bunch of people focusing on ideals while the world burns.
To hear a response focus on ideals proves that for most emotions < real life. There are real world options, being used right now. With pros and cons. That are known. But it means taking a cold hard look at things, not feeling good about 'protecting' in an ineffective manner.
That's very sad. Stayed in Flores and went to Komodo Island on my honeymoon. The dragons are amazing and was fortunate enough to see fully-grown males have a battle for dominance.
The ranger's carry a long branch with a fork in it to defend themselves (by catching the dragon's neck in the fork). Dragons are smart enough to catch things like goats, so they are a danger to adult humans - more by sneaking up rather than a frontal attack.
Wouldn't be too much of a challenge to take one unfortunately. They're usually quite hungry (lots of them hang around the rangers' hut waiting to be fed), so setting a trap with a piece of meat in it would work with little danger to the operator if they were careful.
The ranger's carry a long branch with a fork in it to defend themselves (by catching the dragon's neck in the fork). Dragons are smart enough to catch things like goats, so they are a danger to adult humans - more by sneaking up rather than a frontal attack.
Wouldn't be too much of a challenge to take one unfortunately. They're usually quite hungry (lots of them hang around the rangers' hut waiting to be fed), so setting a trap with a piece of meat in it would work with little danger to the operator if they were careful.
Just recently I learned that Komodo dragons have the unusual feature of being able to reproduce via parthenogenesis. This means that a female dragon, can become pregnant spontaneously!
Apparently the cell which grows into the baby dragon is formed from an ordinary egg cell that duplicates each of its chromosomes rather than having a second set of chromosomes provided by a male sperm cell, as in sexual reproduction. It turns out that the Komodo sex determination system means the offspring are always male.
I believe this means that the offspring are thus completely homozygous, though not clones of their mother because the egg chromosomes were formed by the usual meiosis. Even more amazing (I think) is that there are apparently some boa snakes which can also reproduce via parthenogenesis but whose sex determination system makes all offspring female. IIUC, if any of these daughters were also to reproduce via parthenogenesis, then their offspring would indeed be clones of their mothers. A sort of genetic end point.
Apparently the cell which grows into the baby dragon is formed from an ordinary egg cell that duplicates each of its chromosomes rather than having a second set of chromosomes provided by a male sperm cell, as in sexual reproduction. It turns out that the Komodo sex determination system means the offspring are always male.
I believe this means that the offspring are thus completely homozygous, though not clones of their mother because the egg chromosomes were formed by the usual meiosis. Even more amazing (I think) is that there are apparently some boa snakes which can also reproduce via parthenogenesis but whose sex determination system makes all offspring female. IIUC, if any of these daughters were also to reproduce via parthenogenesis, then their offspring would indeed be clones of their mothers. A sort of genetic end point.
This occurs in other snake species as well, the documentation is not always complete, but there is evidence for adders and pythons.
> It turns out that the Komodo sex determination system means the offspring are always male.
Do you mean when it is not parthenogenenis? How does this work?
EDIT: these are some of the snakes that I think it has been (partially) documented for:
Copperhead
Fur de Lance
Some types of rattlesnakes
Burmese Pythons
Reticulated Pythons
> It turns out that the Komodo sex determination system means the offspring are always male.
Do you mean when it is not parthenogenenis? How does this work?
EDIT: these are some of the snakes that I think it has been (partially) documented for:
Copperhead
Fur de Lance
Some types of rattlesnakes
Burmese Pythons
Reticulated Pythons
>> It turns out that the Komodo sex determination system means the offspring are always male.
> Do you mean when it is _not_ parthenogenenis? How does this work?
I mean all Komodo offspring produced by parthenogenenis are male even though offspring from usual sexual reproduction in Komodos can be either gender. The reason is that the Komodo sex determination system is logically opposite to that of mammals. Specifically, whereas in mammals, a pair of homologous sex chromosomes XX, produces a female, in Komodos this produces a male, ZZ. (Parthenogenenis means there is also the possibility of Komodo WW embryo but these are not viable.)
Happy to hear someone else thinks this is interesting.
> Do you mean when it is _not_ parthenogenenis? How does this work?
I mean all Komodo offspring produced by parthenogenenis are male even though offspring from usual sexual reproduction in Komodos can be either gender. The reason is that the Komodo sex determination system is logically opposite to that of mammals. Specifically, whereas in mammals, a pair of homologous sex chromosomes XX, produces a female, in Komodos this produces a male, ZZ. (Parthenogenenis means there is also the possibility of Komodo WW embryo but these are not viable.)
Happy to hear someone else thinks this is interesting.
Ah, so it is the same symbols as with birds.
So that means that the female will have ZW, but it would double its Z_1 and give its offspring Z_1Z_1?
So that means that the female will have ZW, but it would double its Z_1 and give its offspring Z_1Z_1?
The Director Gerneral of Nature Conservationa and Ecosystems, of the Ministry of Conservation and Forestry Mr Wiratno has announced in an official statement that te rumors of closing Komodo are not true.
#Komodoisopen https://wickeddiving.com/2019/04/komodo-is-open/
#Komodoisopen https://wickeddiving.com/2019/04/komodo-is-open/
People will not stop themselves when it comes to abusing and defiling nature.
This is true of the general populace and all of us. We might not be stealing dragons, but bit by bit each of us contribute negatively.
Eventually we will have to police one-another, be it through Government or through societal change and pressure.
This is true of the general populace and all of us. We might not be stealing dragons, but bit by bit each of us contribute negatively.
Eventually we will have to police one-another, be it through Government or through societal change and pressure.
What do they do with them? Keep them around as pets? Stuff them? Make traditional Chinese meds out of them?
Looks like the Jurassic Park movies were allegorical after all. Go figure.
Is this Reddit now?
for a while now, yes
Where can I find a place that feels more like it was here five years ago?
Excellent question, I too think that the comment and perhaps post quality has somewhat deteriorared. To me it's the inane comments that don't add anything which bother me the most. And I don't want to start downvoting everyone for doing that but still, I'd much rather read some deep and thought-provoking observations than remarks such as "that's interesting" or even worse, puns.
But I guess this is what happens with all services when they start to get "main-stream" and start to become diluted by the masses. Without sounding too elitist, it's not all too terrible but you can see the difference between older posts comments and new.
But I guess this is what happens with all services when they start to get "main-stream" and start to become diluted by the masses. Without sounding too elitist, it's not all too terrible but you can see the difference between older posts comments and new.
What concerns me the most is a wave of people who don't like learning. It's the best part of our jobs! People are complaining about new languages, frameworks, platforms, features here more and more.
There's always at least 1 post hanging in a top that is about "You don't really need X", which really says "If you're going to keep doing next 5 years what you've been doing last 5 years, don't bother", which as I suspect some read as "Relax, you don't need to bother about this tech, just memorise a few sentences to sound smart if asked about".
It's HN. There's something new? Cool! You managed to serve 1000s users per second from linode $20 node? Awesome! How? What tradeoffs you had to do and where? You have a good idea on how to better make choices about your tech and created some nice decision tree chart? Thank you. Hope it's on github, we'd like to collaborate.
There's always at least 1 post hanging in a top that is about "You don't really need X", which really says "If you're going to keep doing next 5 years what you've been doing last 5 years, don't bother", which as I suspect some read as "Relax, you don't need to bother about this tech, just memorise a few sentences to sound smart if asked about".
It's HN. There's something new? Cool! You managed to serve 1000s users per second from linode $20 node? Awesome! How? What tradeoffs you had to do and where? You have a good idea on how to better make choices about your tech and created some nice decision tree chart? Thank you. Hope it's on github, we'd like to collaborate.
I can kind of understand though. Information overload. People feel inundated with information, so they turn off.
Who needs dragons when you have the tech industry changing the World?
Another case of “this is why we can’t have nice things”.
At some point I think we just need to accept it. We can't have nice things.
I stayed in Bali for a month, 2 weeks ago. I considered going to Komodo Island but I thought I could go back later. Looks like I missed my chance.
Miguel you haven't there is a lot op misscommunication here. Komodo National Park is open!
The people of Flores went on had a meeting with Vice President after rumors started about Komodo closing down, earlier this year. It is fake, it is not true! Marta Muslin says after meeting Mr Jusaf Kala the Vice President of Indonesia
https://wickeddiving.com/2019/04/komodo-is-open/
The people of Flores went on had a meeting with Vice President after rumors started about Komodo closing down, earlier this year. It is fake, it is not true! Marta Muslin says after meeting Mr Jusaf Kala the Vice President of Indonesia
https://wickeddiving.com/2019/04/komodo-is-open/
Putting satellite communicating GPS tracking devices in Komodo dragons would probably be one of the best ways to locate non-super villain headquarters.
Seems like putting the dragons on some type of block chain might be a possible solution? Sounds like a fun weekend hack!
babyslothzoo(4)
Are they poaching the dragons or stealing them while they're still alive? Usually you'd say "poaching" or "illegally hunting" or something if that's what it was, but stealing a live Komodo dragon sounds like a foolhardy endeavor.
$35k/each offers you some capital expenditure for capturing. I'm sure it's not much different than capturing alligators and other dangerous animals.
This kind of thing gets me furious. I mean, I realize that folks gotta eat, but damn... poaching / stealing individuals of a threatened species that is also one of the coolest animals on the planet -- it just shows no respect. Same thing goes for elephant poachers, etc.
If you are so hungry you need to steal then you'd steal food, not exotic inedible animals.
I hear the same argument about ivory poachers being poor people faced with no other choice but it's simply not true, the amount of money gained from killing one animal is 20 years salary, it's not a choice between going hungry or not.
I hear the same argument about ivory poachers being poor people faced with no other choice but it's simply not true, the amount of money gained from killing one animal is 20 years salary, it's not a choice between going hungry or not.
My sense is most of such poaching is organized crime. The foot soldiers, poachers, are one end of a supply chain. My guess is they make a few hundred bucks, not 35K. Beyond poachers are transporters, a dozen checkpoints who are paid off, a marketer/dealmaker and an eventual buyer who would have paid 35K.
At least that's how it works in India (Sandalwood, ivory etc.,) so I'm guessing this is standard modus operandi across the world.
The point I'm trying to make is, ivory poachers are indeed poor people. However, the amount of money they make from killing one animal is good enough for a week or month's worth of living. Nowhere near 20 years salary. So they are driven by hunger.
The bigger players, politicians, corporations are the ones driven by greed. The movie Blood Diamond is quite accurate IMO.
At least that's how it works in India (Sandalwood, ivory etc.,) so I'm guessing this is standard modus operandi across the world.
The point I'm trying to make is, ivory poachers are indeed poor people. However, the amount of money they make from killing one animal is good enough for a week or month's worth of living. Nowhere near 20 years salary. So they are driven by hunger.
The bigger players, politicians, corporations are the ones driven by greed. The movie Blood Diamond is quite accurate IMO.
I’ve been hanging out with comservationists the last few months - universally I hear the same things. Poachers are young men who start due to need and stay due to greed.
You are making the argument that he makes more money than necessary just for food.
It could be that you have—in theory at least—two options:
1) Try to plant corn. 2) Kill a rhino.
There is no option here that makes exactly $3 or whatever is may be that your food need is for that timestamp.
I think he means "people got to eat" as in you need some kind of income.
It could be that you have—in theory at least—two options:
1) Try to plant corn. 2) Kill a rhino.
There is no option here that makes exactly $3 or whatever is may be that your food need is for that timestamp.
I think he means "people got to eat" as in you need some kind of income.
Crime expert, huh?
How stupid someone has to be to steal someone's food day in day out (and eventually get caught, beaten or worse) when they can "steal" something that belongs to no individual and get away with it?
If the animals actually had a private owner, poachers would mostly get caught and the island wouldn't be closed to tourists.
How stupid someone has to be to steal someone's food day in day out (and eventually get caught, beaten or worse) when they can "steal" something that belongs to no individual and get away with it?
If the animals actually had a private owner, poachers would mostly get caught and the island wouldn't be closed to tourists.
I really disagree with your perspective, what you need to recognise is that people in the West effectively have a system of wage-slavery over other places, and it's based on chance not some deep system of justice. I love nature and animals and extinction fills me with existential sadness but at the same time if someone wants to kill Komodo dragons and the alternative is making 5k a year by being worked to death with no security, my aesthetic sadness about declining beauty feels a bit smug, and I certainly can't be moral about it. Until the world has anything approaching rough equality, fair enough go massacre white rhinos if that's what it takes to get a fraction of the freedom I was born with.
Do you eat meat?
How is killing chicken not worse than capturing lizards?
How is killing chicken not worse than capturing lizards?
Komodo dragons are at risk of extinction, chickens are not.
Given the choice, I'd take a Komodo dragon over a crocodile any day. They're large for a lizard, but much smaller and less murderous than crocs, and generally not an active threat to adult humans.
Check out this video of a Komodo dragon eating a monkey whole [0] or this video of a Komodo dragon killing a deer by ripping open its jugular [1] I'll be honest, they are pretty fucking murderous [3]
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLxRAcBYhKE
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf45e9J-GMA
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPBiLXp5Uj8
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLxRAcBYhKE
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf45e9J-GMA
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPBiLXp5Uj8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon#Diet
> ...swallowing is still a long process (15–20 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully, the tree is knocked down
Jesus, they're mental.
> ...swallowing is still a long process (15–20 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully, the tree is knocked down
Jesus, they're mental.
[deleted]
I'm not saying I'd want to try to a catch Komodo dragon, but they're still less half the size of a saltwater crocodile, which can go over 6m! Here's one tackling a wildebeest:
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/worlds-deadliest/...
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/worlds-deadliest/...
Incredible, I had no idea.
That was... impressive. Those dragons really are impressive killing and eating machines, and people who want to own one are out of their tiny minds.
It's a nice addition for any Bond villains lair. Big bad man like big bad toys.
This is actually a common problem in Mexico: "They [drug lords] like charismatic animals that symbolise power and strength: big cats such as lions, tigers and jaguars, along with big snakes, monkeys and nice looking birds," [1]
[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/indepth/features/2011/09/20119...
This is actually a common problem in Mexico: "They [drug lords] like charismatic animals that symbolise power and strength: big cats such as lions, tigers and jaguars, along with big snakes, monkeys and nice looking birds," [1]
[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/indepth/features/2011/09/20119...
I feel like that just wouldn't be true given that just a scratch from a bite from a Komodo can be deadly - or so I've been lead to believe.
What are you basing this on?
What are you basing this on?
>just a scratch from a bite from a Komodo can be deadly
That's incorrect.
>In 1969, Walter Auffenberg came along and made his detailed study of Komodo dragon behaviour. He made two critical observations:
>1) Komodo dragons can kill large prey, occasionally even buffalo, outright.
>2) buffalo that escape a Komodo dragon attack often die of infection.
>Auffenberg, based on the second observation, hypothesized that the dragon had septic saliva and used it to kill large prey slowly over days or weeks, even though his own published field observations contradicted this. The public caught wind of this idea, and the myth of the Komodo dragon as a slow killer with a virulent bacterial brew was born.
>Then, in the 21st century, Dr. Bryan Fry discovered the presence of modified salivary glands in the dragon's lower jaw. The compound produced by these glands proved to be a potent anticoagulant.
>Dr. Fry believed that this substance was venom, since many types of snake venom also cause uncontrollable bleeding. He also recognized that Komodo dragons kill prey quickly rather than over a long time, since he actually observed these animals hunting. Unfortunately, the press totally missed that last bit, so the myth lived on in modified form, with venom replacing bacteria.
>The original venom hypothesis has come under fire recently (Hargreaves et al, 2015), and many scientists now believe the anticoagulant is a digestive enzyme. There are many reasons to indicate that venom doesn't play a role when killing prey, which certainly fits with the observations of Komodo dragons killing prey violently and swiftly.
>In 2013, another study revealed that there was no septic bacteria in the Komodo dragon's maw. In fact, it has a cleaner mouth than most mammals due to constantly replacing its teeth, leaving no chance for trapped food to rot and fester before they fall out along with the dentition.
>It is a fact that Komodo dragons do not wait for prey to die, even though this myth is still being presented as true by pop culture. What really happens in these cases is something else entirely: prey escapes, gets infected, dies, and is eaten by a dragon (possibly the same one if it happens to be nearby). There is never any intent by the dragon to kill its prey in this way. They try to kill quickly, in some cases even near-instantaneously, and usually in just a few minutes.
[0] https://imgur.com/gallery/RUeB9
[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/b8joz9/komodo_island_...
That's incorrect.
>In 1969, Walter Auffenberg came along and made his detailed study of Komodo dragon behaviour. He made two critical observations:
>1) Komodo dragons can kill large prey, occasionally even buffalo, outright.
>2) buffalo that escape a Komodo dragon attack often die of infection.
>Auffenberg, based on the second observation, hypothesized that the dragon had septic saliva and used it to kill large prey slowly over days or weeks, even though his own published field observations contradicted this. The public caught wind of this idea, and the myth of the Komodo dragon as a slow killer with a virulent bacterial brew was born.
>Then, in the 21st century, Dr. Bryan Fry discovered the presence of modified salivary glands in the dragon's lower jaw. The compound produced by these glands proved to be a potent anticoagulant.
>Dr. Fry believed that this substance was venom, since many types of snake venom also cause uncontrollable bleeding. He also recognized that Komodo dragons kill prey quickly rather than over a long time, since he actually observed these animals hunting. Unfortunately, the press totally missed that last bit, so the myth lived on in modified form, with venom replacing bacteria.
>The original venom hypothesis has come under fire recently (Hargreaves et al, 2015), and many scientists now believe the anticoagulant is a digestive enzyme. There are many reasons to indicate that venom doesn't play a role when killing prey, which certainly fits with the observations of Komodo dragons killing prey violently and swiftly.
>In 2013, another study revealed that there was no septic bacteria in the Komodo dragon's maw. In fact, it has a cleaner mouth than most mammals due to constantly replacing its teeth, leaving no chance for trapped food to rot and fester before they fall out along with the dentition.
>It is a fact that Komodo dragons do not wait for prey to die, even though this myth is still being presented as true by pop culture. What really happens in these cases is something else entirely: prey escapes, gets infected, dies, and is eaten by a dragon (possibly the same one if it happens to be nearby). There is never any intent by the dragon to kill its prey in this way. They try to kill quickly, in some cases even near-instantaneously, and usually in just a few minutes.
[0] https://imgur.com/gallery/RUeB9
[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/b8joz9/komodo_island_...
Komodo dragons having filthy saliva that causes deadly infections is a myth. In actual fact they have venomous saliva, which functions as an anti-coagulant (whether it counts as a venom seems to be disputed, but the anti-coagulant properties of the saliva one way or the other seem to be established fact.) They kill by inflicting massive bleeding[1][2].
Related to the bacteria/saliva myth are misconceptions on how they hunt. They often eat their prey alive in a very brutal manner[3], rather than biting them once then hanging back for their prey to die. They also have exceptional endurance by reptile standards. Crocodilians are known for very rapid burst speed, but monitor lizards and particularly Komodo dragons can chase prey at very high speeds for much longer than you'd expect[4].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon#Saliva
[2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/06...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrg9hYjW8ts
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O16-IrBIscI
Related to the bacteria/saliva myth are misconceptions on how they hunt. They often eat their prey alive in a very brutal manner[3], rather than biting them once then hanging back for their prey to die. They also have exceptional endurance by reptile standards. Crocodilians are known for very rapid burst speed, but monitor lizards and particularly Komodo dragons can chase prey at very high speeds for much longer than you'd expect[4].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon#Saliva
[2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/06...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrg9hYjW8ts
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O16-IrBIscI
>generally not an active threat to adult humans.
Unless say,you were trying to put one in a bag. Also they don't need to hang on to you to kill you like a croc does.
Unless say,you were trying to put one in a bag. Also they don't need to hang on to you to kill you like a croc does.
There are 23 species of crocs and some are smaller than Komodo dragons. Temperaments vary quite a lot between species also, with crocs from the alligator side of the family considered to be "easier", though they're all crocs so everything is relative.
And can cause you a deadly blood poisoning if you get bitten because of bacteria in their mouth and saliva...
They're cold blooded, meaning they're basically completely paralyzed for about 12 hours a day. Until 10am or so you can basically sit on them for a photo op if you want.
You've tried it personally or you just presume it? I've seen them only in ZOOs, but according to AccuWeather night temperature on Komodo islands right now is just a few degrees below the daily max (27^C at 5am is the min. and maxes at 30^C at 2pm). My leopard gecko is fully active on lower temperatures than that...
I was there in 2015. I didn’t actually sit on one, but we got right up next to them for pictures. The park rangers just poke each one with a stick first to make sure it doesn’t move. But yeah you could pet them and everything.
Then in the afternoon they start running around and the rangers use the sticks to keep them away.
Then in the afternoon they start running around and the rangers use the sticks to keep them away.
Fantastic, thanks for that info!
Apparently it's a myth that Komodo dragons kill prey with deadly bacteria from their bite:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/06...
Interesting, thanks for the link, I've heard sepsis theory many times before, this is the first time I hear about them having actual venom glands. Anyhow "toxins that lower blood pressure, cause massive bleeding, prevent clotting and induce shock" sound even scarier than bacteria to me.
I was thinking this too, and wondering what sort of punishments they were going to have for people that sneak onto the island now... because they better be pretty severe if they're supposed to dissuade people who are willing try capturing literal dragons alive. Komodo dragons are terrifying.
The punishment is not being allowed to leave the island.
Then you have two problems: an island full of Komodo dragons AND criminals able to survive on an island full of Komodo dragons!
> The lizards were selling for about $35,000 (500 million rupiah) each.
Sounds to me like they should be farming these things. 100 animals is 3.5 million. Not a bad way to make money.
Sounds to me like they should be farming these things. 100 animals is 3.5 million. Not a bad way to make money.
Komodo Dragons are notoriously reluctant to breed in captivity. There have been ~200 born in captivity the last 20 years, making the economics of your Dragons farm questionable.
The price wouldn't be $35,000 a pop if they could easily be farmed.
Cool! They should farm pandas and rhinos as well. Extinction would be solved overnight!
Rhinos are being farmed already. You can regularly trim the horns of you rhino herd in edition to selling the rhinos themselves.
If you start farming them the price won’t stay $35k for long
I think they are very difficult to breed hence why farming is not common. Indonesia a pretty poor country so labor and land should be cheap. Whatever you have to do to get them to breed... you could figure it out.
Apparently... leave them alone. Unfortunately the simplest messages seem to be the hardest for humans to understand.
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Artificial insemination might work, right?
"capturing", not "stealing"
Anyone curious should check out this amazing gallery of pics/videos and captions that really blew my mind and totally changed my perception of this fearsome lizard!
[0] https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/b8joz9/komodo_island_...
[1] https://imgur.com/gallery/RUeB9 (credit: theitinerantnaturalist on imgur)