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Treats Banned, Komodo Dragons Get Nasty
Ban on food offerings 'angers' hungry lizards
By Jess Kilby
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Posted Aug 25, 08 5:53 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Komodo dragons in an Indonesian park are increasingly attacking humans, and villagers who share their habitat say environmentalist policies are to blame, reports the Wall Street Journal. Inhabitants of Komodo National Park have traditionally left deer and sheep for the carnivorous lizards, the largest in the world. But new laws banning the offerings have made the dragons “angry with us,” said a villager.
On the advice of the American conservation group that manages the park, officials have abolished sheep sacrifices (performed mainly for tourists) and deer hunting, saying a healthy deer population is vital to the dragons’ survival. Officials also say a growing human population within the park— there are roughly 4,000 people and 2,500 dragons—is to blame for the increase in attacks.