You know, the Komodo Dragon is the world’s largest living lizard. It is found on the steep-sloped island of Komodo, hence, it’s name, and the lesser sunder chain of the Indonesian archipelego.
One swipe of it’s powerful tail can render an enemy senseless.
No “Need help fast!” proviso, so I’ll just say, if it was a crocodile, the trick is to run in zig-zags, because they’re shit at changing direction. Komodo’s are another thing altogether, I imagine.
Manuel Mollinedo, the LA Zoo director during the Komodo attack in the link, was later the zoo director in SF at the time the tiger got out of its cage and killed that kid a few years back.
The zoo staff was accuse of many of the same things – downplaying the problem, not allowing the police into the grounds, etc.
I’ve read of them climbing trees after a guy.
I read a book in grade school about a guy and his Wife that researched Komodos. One was chasing her and the guy dropped it on the run with a rifle. I bet he enjoyed her marital affections for some time after that.
Minor nitpit; there is some pretty compelling (conclusive, IMO) evidencethat komodo dragons are, in fact, venomous in the traditional sense. They contain venom-producing glands between their teeth, which gets forced deep into the wounds during their peculiar bite technique.
The role of bacteria is questionable, and may play only an incidental role for predation, if any.