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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Leapin' lizards! - Komodo dragon dies after zoo fall |
| 2004-08-22 |
| This one's for you, Mucky. Saturday, August 21, 2004 Posted: 8:37 AM EDT (1237 GMT) LONDON, England (CNN) -- A rare Komodo dragon has died after falling from a wall while trying to reach her mate at London Zoo. The zoo had hoped that 10-year-old Nina and Raja, six, would eventually mate, and help save the species. Scaling the wall in her new state-of the art enclosure was "both spontaneous and entirely out of character" behavior, the zoo said in a statement. Nina, who was 6.5ft long and weighed 44lbs, died of internal bleeding on Wednesday, the zoo said. She was injured after climbing a dividing wall, which ranges from 7.2ft to 8.2ft high, and falling into Raja's section. The zookeeper vigorously denied any allegations of inadequate oversight. During subsequent interviews, the reptile house supervisor noted, "Each Komodo Dragon enclosure, in fact, contains a ... monitor." [rimshot] London Zoo insisted the Komodo house, which took seven months to build, had been completed to the highest possible specifications. "The design of the enclosure was thoroughly researched drawing on the knowledge of the world's leading reptile experts, but sadly this individual female dragon's agility far exceed our expectations and research," curator Dr David Field said. "Immediate measures are being put in place to prevent a similar incident happening again and we are carrying out a thorough investigation into what occurred." However, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the organization was "shocked" by the death. This animal's climbing ability should have been anticipated: Monitors are among the oldest living lizards. They are related to the mosasaur, a marine lizard that lived from 136 million to 65 million years ago and ranged up to 10 m (33 ft) long. The largest monitor is the 165-kg (365-lb) Komodo dragon. It lives on several islands, including Komodo, in Indonesia. This lizard is a fierce predator and scavenger; its mouth carries a virulent bacteria, and its bite alone can be fatal. Although monitors are mainly terrestrial, some species also climb trees and are good swimmers. The large water monitor of East India can swim far from land. Two species, the Komodo dragon and the Gray's monitor, are listed on the World Conservation Union (also known as IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. "The full biological needs and abilities of any animals should be fully assessed before they are placed in a captive environment. "From the information we have been provided with, it appears this was not done in the case of the Komodo dragons. "We are frankly shocked that London Zoo was so ill-prepared -- especially given the rarity of the species. "Komodo dragons are large, strong animals that can be aggressive towards each other. "From what we have been given by, it appears these well-known biological facts were not taken into account in the design of the captive-facilities at London Zoo." But Miranda Stevenson of the Zoo Federation, the professional association for zoos in Britain and Ireland, said: "Like everyone else we thought it was an ideal state-of-the-art enclosure. "It is really unfortunate that the animal appears to have performed some acrobatics that no one could have anticipated." The large lizards eat deer and water buffalo in the wild and have been known to devour humans. They inhabit a small number of Indonesian islands and can live for 20 years. There are believed to be about 5,000 left in the wild. More information on these marvelous animals is available here. If the lizard's bite does not cause its prey to die from bleeding to death, oral bacteria injected into the wound usually will kill it anyway. Quite obviously, these reptiles neglect to brush after every meal. Amazingly, Komodos are unfazed by each others' bites and scientists are studying their immune systems. Their bite is deadly, because their saliva contains many species of bacteria, which leads to rapid infection in any animal that doesn't immediately bleed to death. Interestingly, although they may also bite one another, they seem to be immune to infection by their own bacteria. Scientists are very interested in the komodo's immune defenses. Monitor lizards also have an interesting adaptation for breathing. Many lizards cannot run and breathe effectively at the same time because the rib muscles used for breathing are also used for running. However, monitors have a pouch under their chins called a gular pouch. Monitors fill the pouch with air and then pump air down into their lungs. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #6 Coming soon at LGF: "Let my people go!" |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-08-22 11:37:19 PM |
| #5 good post zenster. im agree with em dls. he is ned to be prosecute! |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-08-22 11:28:44 PM |
| #4 This is why it's not a good idea to rely on "experts." This was easy to anticipate, given the species' habits and abilities. Humans think they know everything. Not. A little humility and a commitment to learn and understand, is imperative in every human endeavor. It looks like "Nina" payed the price for the absence of both. Too bad. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-08-22 11:08:43 AM |
| #3 Idea for a new reality show: Dragon wrestling. They guy who designed the enclosure can be the first to at it with the remaining dragon |
| Posted by: DLS 2004-08-22 10:12:03 AM |
| #2 I blame Sharon Stone |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-22 9:58:45 AM |
| #1 The design of the enclosure was thoroughly researched drawing on the knowledge of the world’s leading reptile experts Charles Johnson is a great guitarist and pretty darn good web designer, but I don't think he does zoos. But then again. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-22 9:36:39 AM |