Is The Komodo Dragon A Monster Out Of Your Nightmare?

With nearly 60 teeth, serrated like a shark’s and about 0.4 inches (1 cm) long, the Komodo dragon is a brutal predator. The real brilliance in the Komodo's system, though, lies in the guarantee of a meal.

An animal that doesn't die in the actual attack will almost always die within a few days. The Komodo waits patiently, following it for miles in a leisurely fashion, and then locates the dead animal by its smell. Like most lizards-- and snakes, for that matter -- Komodo dragons have a very good sense of smell. But it's not the kind of smell most of us are familiar with. Like a snake, a Komodo "smells" by collecting air with its forked tongue and then depositing it on receptors on the roof of its mouth. Using this method, it can detect a dead animal up to 5 miles (8 km) off 

Why, exactly, an animal dies after the fact is a subject of some debate.

Until recently, scientists were sure that it was a Komodo dragon's oral bacteria that killed the prey within days after an attack. It's a very good explanation. A Komodo dragon's saliva can contain anywhere from 50 to 80 different bacteria.  With that much deadly bacteria entering the bloodstream through a bite, bacterial infection and death are guaranteed. But recent research suggests there may be another possibility as well.

In 2005, scientists concluded that komodo dragons (actually all monitor lizards, as well as iguanas) produce venom, not just a deadly supply of bacteria.  Venom is a toxin that's secreted by special glands and injected into an animal by a bite or sting. The researchers started looking specifically for venom in Komodos because they believed it was unlikely a bacterial infection could kill an animal in as little as a day or two. Now that at least one study has concluded that there's venom suspended in Komodo saliva, some believe this venom, and not a powerful bacterial cocktail, is what makes Komodos so reliably lethal.

Which brings us back to the question: cobra or Komodo? The comparison is kind of like pitting Alien against Predator -- it only works in the movies. And even in the 2005 B-movie "Komodo vs. Cobra," you don't find out who wins. Which bite is more potent is fairly clear: A Komodo bite will kill an animal within several days, while an animal bitten by a cobra only lives for a few minutes.  Komodo dragon's mouth is still undeniably fatal.

Komodo dragons, like cobras, are immune to their own poison. Like all biological defenses, this has possible applications in medical research. If scientists can find the antibody in Komodo blood that renders it immune to its own bacterial cocktail, it could lead to a new class of hardcore antibiotics.

In 2004, scientists discovered the antibody in cobras that blocks the effects of cobra venom. They believe that understanding how the venom receptors are blocked in these animals could lead to improved treatments for heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

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Are There Man-Eating Dragons Roaming Planet Earth?

 I first came to know about the Komodo dragons when watching a documentary on TV and ever since then I have been intrigued by this creature.


In June 2008, five scuba divers were carried away from their dive boat by strong currents and stranded. When they finally made it to land after 12 hours adrift in shark-filled waters, they must have thought they were home safe.



As it turns out, the land they made it to was Indonesia’s Rinca island, one of the last remaining homes to wild Komodo dragons, and the divers' relief was short lived. They spent the next two days throwing rocks and screaming at a Komodo dragon that appeared on the beach. They successfully kept it at bay until they were rescued from the nearly deserted island.

The world thought Komodo dragons were mythological until about 1911. During World War I, a plane crashed near Komodo Island, and the pilot survived to tell the world about the Komodo dragon. He, like the divers, was very lucky.

Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) live up to their fierce reputation. They will attack and devour a human being unprovoked. They're part of a group of lizards known as monitors, and they're the biggest lizards in the world. The largest Komodo ever measured was more than 10 feet (3 meters) long and weighed 366 pounds (166 kg). The average size in the wild is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and 200 pounds (91 kg). To get feel for how powerful this creature is, consider that when a 120-pound (54-kg) Komodo in the London Zoo needs a blood test, it takes two people to hold down its tail.

Many scientists think the record 366-pounder may have eaten a big meal just before weighing in. A Komodo can consume about 80 percent of its body weight in 20 minutes. It can swallow huge pieces at a time because its jaw and skull are flexible, like a snake’s. Komodo prey includes chickens, wild boar, deer, goats and animals as big as water buffalo. On occasion, it'll take down a human. The Komodo is the only lizard that will attack prey bigger than itself. It also regularly attacks other Komodo dragons. About one-tenth of the Komodo diet is other Komodos. 

There aren't many animals that can survive a Komodo attack. A human and another Komodo are pretty much the only ones. This endangered animal, down to about 4,000 in the wild, is at the top of the food chain in its habitat.

What is it that makes this lizard such a good predator? Find out next.

Can Your Pet Be Susceptible To Swine Flu?

Can Your Pet Be Susceptible To Swine Flu, and Do They Really Need a Flu Shot?

Please read the following article so that you can take appropriate action to protect your pets.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported the first confirmed case of H1N1 in a house pet, a 13-year-old domestic shorthaired cat.

The animal likely contracted the virus from its owners, veterinarians say, since two of the three family members living in the cat's household had recently suffered from influenza-like illness.

When the cat came down with flu-like symptoms -- malaise, loss of appetite -- its owners brought it to Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine for treatment. The family mentioned to the vet that they had also recently battled illness, which led to testing the pet for H1N1.

It's not yet clear how vulnerable cats, dogs and other household animals may be to the new virus, but the Iowa cat's case reinforces just how different H1N1 is from seasonal flu viruses.

"There has never been a report of human seasonal influenza affecting cats or dogs," says Dr. Julie Levy, director of Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Florida.

"In theory, cats could infect humans, but there is no evidence for that yet," added Torres, former chief veterinary officer of the United States who is now associate dean for public policy at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Among animals, the virus does not appear to spread easily, which may further suggest that pets are not ideal reservoirs for influenza.

The cat seems to be recovering well from its bout with H1N1, by the way.

According to a doctor's comments:

First I want to point out that although swine flu was confirmed in a cat, this is a very rare occurrence, one that has never been documented before. To date, there has only been one confirmed case of H1N1 in a house pet, and this was in an older animal.

As in humans, as pets get older their immune systems may not be as adept at fighting off illness as those in younger animals, so it’s possible the cat’s older age played a part.

But again I want to stress how unlikely an event this truly is. There are no reports of human seasonal flu infecting cats or dogs on the record, and there is only once case of H1N1 infecting a cat.

And while veterinarians know that influenza viruses mutate, we do not expect H1N1 to mutate and infect thousands of pets.

How to Protect Your Pets From Flu and Other Illness

Although swine flu is a very minor risk to cats and dogs, the best way to protect them from this and other types of infectious disease is the same way you protect yourself.

Focus on creating a functional, resilient immune system through species-appropriate nutrition.

Most pets are denied access to living foods that are unprocessed and raw. They are also denied such healthy foods as whole meats, organs, veggies and fruits. This is a large part of the reason why many pets’ immune systems are vulnerable to opportunistic infections.

You can’t expect your pet to thrive on a diet of entirely processed foods, including grain-based, inorganic dry foods like most commercial kibble. It just won’t happen.

Dogs and cats evolved to consume living, unprocessed foods, and once you remove the raw food, you disrupt nearly every important biochemical pathway in their body. This is a prescription for disaster, and maintaining your pet on completely cooked and refined foods can clearly impact their health.

In fact, a growing number of veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbled and canned food) is the number one cause of illness and premature death in modern dogs and cats.

In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food suppresses animals’ immune systems, and causes:

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Liver disease

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Kidney disease

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Heart disease

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Other diseases

So the first step to helping your pet stay healthy is to feed them an optimized diet that includes fresh, living foods that are appropriate for their species. In the case of dogs and cats this means a raw, meat-based diet.

Should Your Pet Get a Flu Shot?

There is no pet H1N1 vaccine, and even if there was, it would be as ineffective as the other flu vaccines, so don't rely on vaccination to prevent or cure any flu outbreak.

Dogs have their own flu virus, H3N8, which is completely unrelated to the current H1N1 outbreak. There is a dog vaccine available but this is also not recommended.

You should know that canine influenza (dog flu) is NOT a human influenza virus and is a disease of dogs, not humans. There is no evidence that dog flu can be transmitted to humans.

While a small number of dogs can develop serious disease that progresses into pneumonia, the majority of dogs (80 percent or more) have only a mild form of the disease that causes cough, runny nose and fever.

Some dogs may also have dog flu and show no symptoms at all, and the number of dogs that die from dog flu is very small.

As with virtually all types of illness, the best route of prevention for dog flu begins with feeding your dog a high-quality species-appropriate diet and providing opportunities for regular exercise.