Thaindian News

Indonesia Feb 24 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A park ranger in Indonesia was saved by his colleagues on Monday, when a seven foot komodo dragon attacked him. The komodo, which is the world’s largest lizard, had grabbed Marcelinus Subanghadir by the foot while he was outside his hut on Komodo Island. He held Marcelinus’s right foot in his shark-like teeth as the man screamed for help. Miraculously, his colleagues were nearby and heard the man’s screams. Marcelinus, who is 34 years old was said t have suffered deep cuts, and was recovering at a nearby hospital in Bali.

Komodo dragons are native only to Eastern Indonesian Islands of Padar, Rinca, and Komodo. There is believed to be less than four thousand of these lizards, which can grow to be over three meters long or about 10 and a half feet, and weigh up to 154 ounds, or seventy kilograms. They are known be ferocious carnivores which usually feed on such animals as deer, water buffalo, and wild boar. They will normally lay waiting, and then ambush their prey, and rip it apart with the large, curbed teeth which they possess. They have jaws which they can unhinge, enabling them to swallow chunks of flesh which are larger than their heads. Even when prey is lucky enough to escape the initail attack, the toxic bacteria in the komodo’s saliva will soon poison the victim, and the komodo will find it by smell.

Considering all of these facts, it is even more of a miracle that Marcelinus Subanghadir was overheard by his colleagues, and rescued in time to receive proper treatment.