BBC: Giant lizard terrorises Beirut

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3195937.stm

In Lebanon, a giant lizard has been roaming the streets of a Beirut suburb for several weeks, eluding all the attempts by the authorities to catch it.

He's Lebanon's own Komodo Dragon, or so say the witnesses who have seen him.


About three months ago, one person sighted him, but his tale was dismissed as that of a crazy person.

But when pets started disappearing, people started paying attention.
<snip>

If this isn't right for LBN, I understand, but it's nice to have a bit of news to smile at today!

[Demobrat]

1. Oh man, that thing is FUGLY.

I could go my whole life without seeing one of those.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. I was thinking one of Saddam's WMD had gotten away and was attacking

Beirut. :evilgrin:

[DBoon]

25. Believe the Tabloids!

As they said in Men In Black:

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/news/index.cfm?instanceid=59123

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. LOL...

http://web1.ami-admin.com/perl/trackimage.pl?I=53323&H=weeklyworldnews%2Ecom&Image=http%3A%2F%2Fweb1%2Eami%2Dadmin%2Ecom%2Fimages%2F45578%2Ejpg

[bemildred]

2. Monitors will eat you, if they are big enough.

No hesitation at all.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. Don't they have some sort of caustic saliva that leads to severe

infection?

[coralrf]

5. no

nt

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

9. Yes! and a link! (for the Komodo)

<snip>
Hunt by ambush and seize with jaws, bacteria in mouth infects prey when bitten, this usually causes death by blood poisoning, if prey escapes it usually dies within 1 - 2 days, can track down animals for up to 4 miles
<snip>

http://www.scz.org/animals/d/komodo.html

Komodo dragons are carnivores (meat eaters) and will devour any animal they are capable of dismembering and gulping down. Although they are for the most part scavengers, they do capture live prey, including deer, pigs, birds, even young dragons. The young can escape by climbing trees, because the much-heavier adults cannot climb. Komodo dragons are good swimmers and have been reported hunting in the surf for fish and birds.

Komodo dragons are formidable predators, since even one bite can be lethal. The bacteria that live in the dragon's saliva are so virulent that wounds often will not heal. Even if the victim gets away, it usually dies from infection in a few days. The dragon's reputation as a human eater is well deserved; it does not seem to fear humans and many attacks and deaths have been reported.

<snip>
http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_komodo.htm

[coralrf]

24. NO!!!

The Dragon does not hunt in that fashion. A monitor, it eats probably once a month. It has a vicious attack and kills quickly...the damn thing is the largest lizard in the world. Its prey are swallowed whole and this lizard like most will refuse dead prey.

You have not used credible sources, Support for that loony concept disappeared years ago as knowledge of these animals grew.

[minkyboodle]

33. Interesting

Every docu I have seen about the Komodo and all I have heard reported the bacteria bite and then following the prey untill they become significantly weak enough to eat. I am very interested in your view that this is not the case. Could you provide a link or source about this feeding behavior. Thanks.
Scott

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

43. Every site I found described the bacteria filled saliva.....

I'd say you're outvoted on this one kind sir.

[bicentennial_baby]

45. Tell that

to the professors who co-authored my microbiology textbook, because it's in there as well.

[oasis]

40. Ask Sharon Stone's husband who was hospitalized nearly a week

after being bitten. Sharon arranged with the zoo(can't remember which city) to have a private tour. Her hubby wanted to see the Komodo dragon display up close and personal and the zoo staff obliged him.

Their saliva creates severe infection. The lizards bite and then track their victims who sooner or later succumb to the infection. Then the nearby lizard community joins in the feast.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. It's a disguise

for all the little reptiles of the BFEE and the PNAC as they roam the streets of Beirut in search of more oil and more people to be welcomed into the "Jaws of Freedom". Of course all of those little snakes can fit inside one big ol' lizard suit; after all, they are really very little men of very small moral stature.



http://godzillasworld.8m.com/littleg.htm

On edit:

Reading that pets have been disappearing, I hope in the future not to read that small children are attacked or disappear.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

41. OMFG!!! It looks as if it got your Godzilla!

[The Magistrate]

7. Paging Mr. Ickes...

Mr. Ickes, please come to the white courtesy phone....

"Remember: if you don't vote for the right lizard, the wrong lizard might get in!"

[bicentennial_baby]

17. Good one, Sir!

You have made me smile, thank you. :hi:

[htuttle]

8. Dragon loose in Beirut, city terrified.

Well. Just one more item I can cross off my "things I thought I'd never see" list.

Wonder if they have a magic sword handy?
They suppose they do. I've heard you can get anything in Beirut.

[olmy]

10. Ann Coulter is in Beirut?

.

[Don_G]

44. That Was My Thought

All too easy for a Micro$haft Customer Rep in India to mistake "lizard" for "lesbian," especially after he's seen a jpg of Ann Thrax.

Then again, there's the story of Alligators in NYC sewers and I don't know where she lives.

[HawkerHurricane]

11. I'm suddenly reminded of a war game...

10 or so years ago, someone came out with 'The Mother of All Battles', a game based on the Desert Storm campaign...

There were several options to the game, all in the name of making it something other than a cake walk for the Americans, and many with much silliness, including a Godzilla type monster (controlled by the Iraqis...)(Which made more sense than the portal to another dimension letting Nazis from a world where Germany won WW2 come help...Or the 'death ray'...)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. I'm sure the joint chiefs are hard at work this very minute

trying to put a spin on this to convince the neocons that this is part of Saddam's bioterror program.... Thousands of Komodos swimming across the Atlantic to destroy American Corporations and eat 10 commandment boulders.

[MisterP]

15. Weekly World News already got that

:o

[Duvenoy]

13. Highly unlikely

that this is a Komodo monitor. It is very difficult, impossible in most cases, to legally aquire one of these lizards, the largest in the world. A better candidate would be one of the large, African monitors, such as the Nile.

The bite of a Komodo is a nasty business. Their saliva contains bacteria (some 9 species, if I remember right) that is so virulent that even a minor wound can be all but a death sentence. It is interesting that the lizard that bites the prey, usually deer, is not necessarly the one to eat it -- the prey's death is a slow business and it can run a long way from the orginal animal, allowing others to finish it off and consume it. But, it all works out as the hungry lizard will sooner or later find another's kill.

I once argued the position, on an herpetology forum, that, due to this symbiotic bacteria, the Komodo monitor should be considered venomous. Utter nonsense of course, but it was fun.

On a somber note, it is now thought that FL might have a reproducing population of Nile monitors. If so, it's an ecological disaster, as these are large (to some 7 feet long) voracious animals that will eat anything they can overpower.

doov

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

14. Another interesting note on the Komodo is that it has been known to

eat 80% of its body weight in as little as 20 minutes.

The Jury's still out as to the species. But IF there was (as reported) a German who moved away and set the beastie free, it would make sense as I'm sure he couldn't get it transported into Germany without getting into trouble.

[Duvenoy]

20. Indeed..

But the question remains: how did the German aquire the animal in the first place? Really, it just ain't done except for zoos and scientific organizations. And even then, it's difficult.

Of course, the trade in exotic wildlife, world wide, is all too often a shady and shameful business. It is remotly possible that this is a smuggled specimen. If it were taken as an neonate, it would lack the oral, bacterial infection (it is an infection. An adult's mouth is a horrid mess of bleeding gums, loose teeth, and constant salivation). They don't get this until they have fed on a carcass already infected by an adult. Therefore, it would be safe to handle, or at least as safe as such an animal ever is -- any large monitor will have powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and often an ill temper. They can bite like the dickens! And they use their tails as weapons.

I'm looking forward to to a confirmed ID on this guy.

doov

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

21. I used to be in the pet business in Atlanta and

was exposed to (but never did business with) some pretty shady importers. If someone has the money, they can acquire virtually any animal they want.

Unfortunately, there are too many people with too much money who think that having an exotic animal will be like adding a dog or cat to their family. I always felt karma was at work when I got a call complaining that someone's Macaw had destroyed $10K in woodwork overnight.

[coralrf]

27. It is probably not a Komodo...

The Komodo is rare in the pet trade as removing them from Komodo Island is illegal. Trade in them is also illegal. It is an endangered species and trade in captive born individuals is also restricted.

Monitors such as the Savannah, White Throat, Water, Nile and Crocodile are commonly available in the pet trade. Some such as the Croc get quite large. I would think this a large Savannah from what has been said about it and probably no more than 6 feet and about 40 pounds in reality.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

36. Marijuana and cocaine are illegal as well....

I was offered many illegal animals and birds that had not passed through quaranteen while in the pet business in the 80's. That was here in the states. We're talking a part of the world that I doubt has the assets or inclination to spend millions watching for illicit pets.

Just my opinion.

[bleedingheart]

37. hmmmm

"it has been known to eat 80% of its body weight in as little as 20 minutes"... I must be part komodo dragon...that happens to be a familial trait on my mother's side...

[Ediacara]

18. maybe

it escaped from a zoo? Although you ARE right, there are many other very large, very nasty monitor lizards to choose from.

[BeHereNow]

16. David Icke?

Maybe Icke isn't so far off in his reptilian theory after all?
Any one seen Dick Cheney lately?
This lizard has a suspiciously familiar sneer...
BHN

[2cents]

19. Good for tourism

Nessie - lite.

[Bonobo]

22. Bush announced new "Lizard Czar"

Reuters just reported that Bush is considering appointing a new "Lizard Czar" to address the problem. He's considering going with either the newly jobless Admiral Poindexter or perhaps Ann Coulter (the only living thing known to have more poisonous saliva).

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

23. I guess they'll set up a "Roadmap to Reptiles..."

His Roadmap to Peace was sooooo effective.

http://web1.ami-admin.com/perl/trackimage.pl?I=53323&H=weeklyworldnews%2Ecom&Image=http%3A%2F%2Fweb1%2Eami%2Dadmin%2Ecom%2Fimages%2F45578%2Ejpg

[DBoon]

29. Patriot Act III

Ashcroft is proposing a new Patriot Act III:

- Ability to demand customer information from all reptile shops, with legal penalties for notifying the customer. Individuals purchasing suspected retiles may be arrested and detained.

- Replacement of zoo reptile exhibits with patriotic "Freedom Chimp" exhibits.

- Blood temperature tests for all boarding airline passengers. Cold blooded individuals not carrying a Republican Party ID card will be detained indefinitely.

- Adm Poindexter to set up an TRA (Total Reptile Awareness) program

- Accused reptiles (other than those carrying a Republican Party ID card) to be indefinitely detained on small island off Costa Rica

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

30. For God's sake DO NOT let these people watch reruns of "V"

[InkAddict]

39. Appointee to Work in Concert w/ New Ass. Deputy for Mfg.

One will need lots of live food (Repukes encouraged to adopt&save endangered world speices; the other will require less unemployed Americans who make stuff - what a team to save the modest damsel (Lady Liberty) in distress? Who could refuse to SAVE WILLIE, again!

[DBoon]

28. Bill Gates is behind this

He's trying to discredit Mozilla and ensure world domination for Internet Explorer

[kodi]

31. obviously an undercover mossad agent.

.

[DoYouEverWonder]

32. Aren't some of the PNACers

supposedly some alien reptile species?

Wasn't Wolfman Wolfowitz over there recently? Maybe he decided to transform into his true form and slink around town for at little while?

[Pert_UK]

34. Now that's NO WAY to refer to Sharon.....

:evilgrin:

P.

[BeHereNow]

35. I keep telling you guys...

it's CHENEY!
Check out the sneer!

BHN

[Voltaire99]

38. Who let Richard Perle out of his cage? (n/t)

.

[snooper2]

42. Komodo dragons kick ass!!!

[davidinalameda]

46. tell Phil Bronstein not to go to Beirut anytime soon

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,8460,00.html

:bounce: