A local fisherman has been killed by Komodo dragons after he was attacked while trespassing on a remote island in search of fruit, Indonesian officials have announced.Muhamad Anwar, 32, bled to death on his way to the hospital after being mauled by the ferocious reptiles at Loh Sriaya, in eastern Indonesia's Komodo National Park. "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," Park general manager Fransiskus Harum said.
Komodo dragons, the world's heaviest lizards, can grow up to 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 deadly 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 this 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. In June last year, a group of divers who were stranded on an island in the national park-- the dragons' only natural habitat-- had to fend off several attacks from the reptiles before they were rescued. Park rangers also tell the cautionary tale of a Swiss tourist who vanished leaving nothing but a pair of spectacles and a camera after an encounter with the dragons several years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment