Missing Divers - Komodo National Park

[DandyDon]

Nope Dandy, they can and will take out a full sized buffalo. Here's the video.

YouTube - Komodo dragons eating buffalo

Also, from National Geographic....

"As the dominant predators on the handful of islands they inhabit, they will eat almost anything, including carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons, and even large water buffalo and humans. "

Komodo Dragon, Komodo Dragon Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News - National Geographic

We're heading out on the Komodo Dancer next week and will try to avoid being eaten....

OMG. Good that the ones around the tourist areas are somewhat tamer - altho I'd never be one to pet one like one article described. Gawd!
Do take every signal device you can, and have a great trip.

.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't think they're "tamer", Don ... I think they're just well-fed. A hungry dragon is a dangerous dragon ... but they're reptiles. Don't expect them to ever be "domesticated" ... they just don't have the wiring for that. But if they're not hungry, about the only way they're gonna show interest in a human is if they feel threatened ... just like any other wild animal. They have three basic motivations for doing just about anything ... all of which can best be described using words that start with "f" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DandyDon]

:doh: Gotcha! Fullbellyitis - didn't think of that. The obvious evades me at times. TY

 

[dutchpickle]

the average dragon is nicer than the average diver

 

[dutchpickle]

the average diver spends more time at the keyboard than in the water

 

[DandyDon]

the average diver spends more time at the keyboard than in the water

I take it that you don't like forum board discussions and are here to troll...?

 

[Wayan]

Yes, I'm sure I'd keep my eye out and at a safe distance regardless of where I encountered them. ............

I was casually referencing the differing actions of the dragons one might find around

Understand the inference however, even in the heavily frequented areas by tourists I have seen people chased up trees (only safe from the larger ones who can not climb anymore (young ones live and sleep in trees as komodos are cannibalistic) only to be rescued by rangers, seen guides chased into the water (not necessarily a good option as Komodos can swim and swim quite well), have seen them chase sea kayaks and climb into boats. They have an amazing scent where the can a do smell prey from up to 4 kilometers away.. Will lie an wait and lash with their tail to bring down their prey and then bite....if the prey manages to limp of they will follow the wound prey at a slow pace until they cannot move any more.

You tend not to see much activity during the heat of the day as they are usually sleeping/resting in the shade.


not hammering you just providing further information ..... for those that want read more goto http://www.komodonationalpark.org/downloads/ciofi 1999.pdf alot more detailed that the natgeo thread

 

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

Understand the inference however, even in the heavily frequented areas by tourists I have seen people chased up trees (only safe from the larger ones who can not climb anymore (young ones live and sleep in trees as komodos are cannibalistic) only to be rescued by rangers, seen guides chased into the water (not necessarily a good option as Komodos can swim and swim quite well), have seen them chase sea kayaks and climb into boats. They have an amazing scent where the can a do smell prey from up to 4 kilometers away.. Will lie an wait and lash with their tail to bring down their prey and then bite....if the prey manages to limp of they will follow the wound prey at a slow pace until they cannot move any more.

You tend not to see much activity during the heat of the day as they are usually sleeping/resting in the shade.


not hammering you just providing further information ..... for those that want read more goto http://www.komodonationalpark.org/downloads/ciofi 1999.pdf alot more detailed that the natgeo thread

Nice article. Basically you should treat a Komodo Dragon as though it were a crocodile, while perhaps not quite as dangerous they are highly instinctive animals and can be unpredictable. I always got to them in the height of day, and they were fairly inactive then, (So was I in that heat). As to the incident at hand, I want to find out more from the horses mouth before I comment further really.
The thing that I will say though is that I much prefer diving in some of the wilder parts of the world, such as SE Asia/New Guinea in semi-regulated environments over N America/Carribean anyday. For me part of the thrill and adventure is just that is more frontier style diving, away from most of the annoying tourists. That doesn't mean is should be dangerous, but if your nearest chamber is hours away by plane you have to be prepared. The people one tends to meet at these places are usually far more interesting than your typical boring resort. I hate package holidays... Over regulation will kill us all. As long as you know what you are getting yourself into then I don't see a problem with it. Safety standards yes, but each of us also has a responsibility for ourselves and to come prepared. One of the reasons New Zealand has so many somewhat wild adventure sports available is that it is hard to sue over there.

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

As should have been expected, a UK newspaper has published a political cartoon based on this incident, with two UK politicians as the divers reaching the island, and "42 days" written on the side of the Komodo dragon. (This refers to an argument in the UK Parliament about detaining terrorism suspects for 42 days without trial.)

 

[peterbj7]

As should have been expected

A bit obscure for me! Which paper?

I'm glad to see that enough objective evidence has now been marshalled to silence the people intent on assuring us that Komodo Dragons are no more dangerous than kitty cats, and the stranded divers must therefore have exaggerated/invented their drama. Presumably these people have a vested interest in the dive operator not being held to blame in any way for what happened. I still think they're culpable.

Perhaps the operator would like to come on here (declaring who they are) and explain how the incident occurred, whether they (the operator) feel they could have done anything differently, and whether they intend to amend their practices for the future. I'm sure they've been reading this thread. If they don't come on that will be tantamount to a statement that they don't intend to change anything, which after this controversy may not help their commercial position in the future.