Mohamad Anwar, 32, was killed by two Komodo dragons after trespassing in Komodo National Park in order to gather fruit according to CNN.
Anwar was declared dead on arrival to a clinic on Flore Island from loss of blood. While attacks by Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizard, are rare, a series of recent attacks have garnered international attention. Last year a group of divers fought off attacks by the giant lizards while awaiting rescue. In 2007 a local boy aged 9 was killed by the dragons. Most recently, a park ranger survived an attack by a Komodo dragon who climbed into his hut.
 The Komodo dragon, world’s largest lizard, in Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. |
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal , conservationists have run into criticism by some local villagers who accuse environmentalists of protecting Komodo dragons at the expense of human safety.
Populations of both humans and dragons have risen on the islands, although there is no evidence that attacks have actually risen as a result. A recent ban on deer hunting by the Komodo National Park is meant to provide the Komodo dragon with ample prey.
Komodo dragons only survive on the island of Komodo and a few neighboring islands with an estimated 4,000-5,000 individuals. They are listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Redlist.
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Komodo dragon conservation efforts prove controversial in Indonesia
(08/25/2008)
Efforts to conserve the world’s largest lizard — the Komodo dragon — are proving controversial, and potentially dangerous to villagers, reports the Wall Street Journal.
5 Komodo Dragons Hatch at British Zoo
(01/24/2007)
Five immaculately conceived Komodo dragons hatched at the Chester Zoo in northern England. Scientists say the birth could have conservation implications for the endangered species of reptile.
Virgin dragon to give birth this Christmas
(12/20/2006)
A virgin Komodo dragon will give birth to offspring this Christmas (or thereabouts) at the Chester Zoo in Britain according to researchers. Flora, a female Komodo dragon, will reproduce asexually in a process called parthenogenesis, where eggs become embryos without male fertilization. The process is known to occur in about 70 reptile species but hadn’t been observed in Komodo dragons — the world’s largest lizard species — until this year. Another dragon, Sungai, had virginal conception earlier this year. Both cases are described in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature
