Komodo Dragons Kill Man

Ban on food offerings 'angers' hungry lizards

(NEWSER) - 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. More»

(NEWSER) - Australian scientists have discovered that the world’s largest lizard packs a lethal venom in its bite, the Guardian reports. MRI scans of an ailing Komodo dragon revealed venom glands in the mouth that had never before been documented. The dragons’ poison sends victims into shock by triggering a sudden drop in blood pressure, and also prevents blood from clotting—causing the prey to bleed to death. More»

Illegal loggers were sleeping in Sumatran preservation

(NEWSER) - Sumatran tigers have killed six Indonesians in the last month, including three over the weekend. The latest victims include a father-son pair of illegal loggers who were attacked while they slept in a protected forest, AP reports. Sumatrans are the world's most endangered tiger subspecies. Poaching and forest destruction have left only 250 of them in the wild. More»

Europeans pelt lizard with rocks during 36-hour ordeal

(NEWSER) - European divers battled a Komodo dragon while waiting 36 hours to be rescued from a deserted Indonesian island, CNN reports. The group, which scavenged for shellfish and pelted the giant lizard with rocks, is dehydrated but suffered minor cuts. Asked if the dragons are dangerous, one expert responded, “Of course! They eat almost everything, including human beings.” More»

Lindsay Sandiford traveling from Thailand to Bali when customs found drugs

(NEWSER) - A 55-year-old British woman has been arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle more than 10 pounds of cocaine from Bangkok into Bali, reports the BBC . Indonesian customs officials say the drugs were found in the lining of Lindsay Sandiford's bags as they went through an X-ray screening on May 19. Authorities believe Sandiford was bringing the drugs to three other British citizens and an Indian national, who are also being questioned. Indonesia can sentence drug traffickers to death, although it has not done so frequently in recent years. More»