# Komodo Dragons kill with a venomous bite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528 "2012-11-01T04:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/1 "2012-11-01T04:46:21Z")
It used to be thought they did not have venom but just had a highly septic bite, That theory is now dispelled. > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. See also [komodo dragons hunt buffalo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-NxMONuJQA&NR=1&feature=endscreen) > [@](#): > > Komodo dragons kill using a one-two punch of sharp teeth and a venomous bite, scientists have confirmed for the first time. > > The find dispels the common belief that toxic bacteria in the Komodos’ mouths are responsible for ultimately killing the dragons’ prey. > An animal that escapes a Komodo’s initial attack soon weakens and dies. The fierce carnivore tracks the wounded creature and dines at its leisure once the prey collapses. > > Researchers have long thought that the Komodo dragon, native to Indonesia, kills via blood poisoning caused by the multiple strains of bacteria in the dragon’s saliva. > > But “that whole bacteria stuff has been a scientific fairy tale,” said Bryan Fry, a venom researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia. > > Fry and colleagues studied the biochemistry of Komodo venom after they had the rare opportunity to examine two dragons from zoos that both had to be put down due to terminal illnesses. > > The team found that the dragon’s venom rapidly decreases blood pressure, expedites blood loss, and sends a victim into shock, rendering it too weak to fight. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/2 "2012-11-01T05:02:50Z")
That is some slooooow acting venom, takes 3 years… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/3 "2012-11-01T12:17:50Z")
Glad to hear this. That idea about fortuitous bacteria causing sepsis always seemed sort of fishy to me. slow-aqcting toxin seems more probable. Why is it that the idea of sepsis got introduced and lasted so long? As far as I know, no other creature uses such a system. And fangless poison is used for disabl8ing prey by the Gila Monster and the Beaded Lizard. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/4 "2012-11-01T13:06:56Z")
Is there any reason it can’t be both? \*_shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/5 "2012-11-01T14:36:45Z")
[Earlier thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=564362) At the bottom, note where I cite Darwin’s Finch. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/6 "2012-11-01T14:42:59Z")
Isn’t science wonderful? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/7 "2012-11-01T15:52:17Z")
It surprises me they can figure out the saliva has bacteria, but not that they’re venomous. Can’t they just dissect one? Aren’t venom glands obvious? ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/8 "2012-11-01T16:14:41Z")
This is interesting news to me - kinda cool. Just a week and a half ago I was at the San Diego Zoo telling my daughter about how the Komodo Dragons don’t have true venom, but might as well 'cause of the bacteria. It appears I’ll have to revise my story… (And I share **AaronX** ’s surprise that something like this could have gone undetected for so long. To me, that’s also interesting.) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/9 "2012-11-01T16:52:11Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > It surprises me they can figure out the saliva has bacteria, but not that they’re venomous. Can’t they just dissect one? Aren’t venom glands obvious? Yes, the wiki entry details how they were detected via MRI and extracted. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/komodo-dragons-kill-with-a-venomous-bite/639528/10 "2012-11-01T20:50:11Z")
An article I read years ago said that the dragons were very hard to examine because they are actually very fragile. Attempts to keep adults in captivity failed. Those that are in zoos were captured soon after hatching and raised in captivity. I don’t remember where I read it, it may have been Discover Magazine or The Smithsonian. I can’t speak to the veracity of the article today.