Komodo dragons kill man in Indonesia
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 | 10:10 AM ET
The Associated Press
A Komodo dragon is seen at Safari Park in Cisarua, West Java, Indonesia in 2006. (Dita Alangkara/Associated Press)Two Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia, police and witnesses said Tuesday, in the latest attack on humans by the world's largest lizard species.
Police Sgt. Kosmas Jalang said Muhamad Anwar, 31, was attacked on Komodo, one of four islands where the giant reptile is found in the wild, minutes after he fell out of a sugar-apple tree on Monday.
A neighbour said he was bleeding badly from bites to his hands, body, legs and neck and died soon after at a clinic on the nearby island of Flores.
Attacks on humans by Komodo dragons are rare, but seem to have increased in recent years.
An eight-year-old boy was killed in 2007 — the first recorded deadly attack on a human by one of the endangered lizards in three decades.
A park ranger narrowly survived after one of the animals entered his hut last month and started biting his hands and legs. There have been several other attacks in recent months, according to Metro TV.
The reptiles, which can grow up to three metres long and weigh as much as 70 kilograms, have shark-like serrated teeth and a bite that can be deadly. Their saliva contains roughly 50 different known bacteria strains, so infection is a risk.
Komodos, which are said to number less than 4,000 in the wild, can be found on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca. Tiny numbers also can be found on Flores.
