Attack of the Dragon

akennedy73 said:
Take a large sturdy walking staff. It'll already be in your hands when you need it.

As far as a knife, I'd actually take a sharpened spike of some kind or a very narrow dagger like a Fairbairn-Sykes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbairn-Sykes_fighting_knife. I don't know how tough their skin is but a slicing cut or chop may not penetrate it. A sharpened spike or narrow dagger is more likely to create sufficiently lethal puncture wounds.
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I was going to make a walking staff from a piece of bamboo but a friend told me that ratan is a better material for this application. I'll just need to find a ratan long enough for this staff. It'll also have a small but sharp metal tip.

I agree, the dagger is probably the best for this task, but I don't have one at the moment. So for this trip, I can bring either a large golok or a Busse BM, most likely the later.

Thanks for your comments... :thumbup:
 
sodak said:
I was thinking light saber. They'd be a LOT more endangered if they lived here. Nasty creatures, got no love for them.
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Some of my friends have grown to love the creatures of the class Reptilia. I myself consider them as least favorite animals to be around with. Komodo Dragon is somewhere at the top of the list. :D

snake.jpg
 
Dahsyat said:
Komodo Dragon that is. I have always been openly distrustful with these creatures, and this story certainly confirms my suspicion.

As I will be going to the Komodo Island in not so distant future (like later this month :D ), what kind of blade(s) should I carry with me for this occasion...?

What would you bring..? :D

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/04/indonesia.komodo.reut/index.html
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I'd bring a shotgun with slugs and a K9 early warning system,so I could sleep.
If that's not allowed a Cold Steel Boar spear would be my first, second and third choise.
No spear?
A big Bowie or Khukuri would work.
I'd bring a friend slower than me.
First aid kit as well.
 
A few facts about Komodo dragons: the babies will climb up trees, because one of the favorite foods of adult dragons is, you guessed it, baby dragons. The adults, yes, are too heavy to climb VERY WELL, but they CAN make it up a decently slanted tree after you. The dragons reside on three Indonesian islands that I know of, and are named for the island of Komodo (obviously). They do swim from island to island, but from what I've read/heard/seen, they generally ignore anything in the water. And now the biggy: Komodo dragons are ambush predators. You would never see the attack coming, and even if you did, they can bite more than hard enough to crush even an aluminum walking stick. Like most reptiles, they have good, strong skin, so you'd need a direct hit to penetrate with some sort of spike. A knife would be almost utterly useless. Your best bet is to stay in a large group, stick to the middle of the widest trails, and keep your wits about you. If you see a dragon, even a small one, MOVE AWAY QUICKLY. Juveniles/adults can, and will, run you down. That said, have fun, and bring back photos.
 
The article states that those dragons can kill a full grown water buffalo...That's hard to believe..Iv'e seen a water buffalo kick a full grown lions ass before....They must be very deadly if this is true.
 
Grappler1911 said:
I'd bring a shotgun with slugs and a K9 early warning system,so I could sleep.
If that's not allowed a Cold Steel Boar spear would be my first, second and third choise.
No spear?
A big Bowie or Khukuri would work.
I'd bring a friend slower than me.
First aid kit as well.
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Licensed firearms and dogs are not allowed to be brought in, as this is a wildlife sanctuary. However, the local islanders hunt with traditional means and have working dogs…, go figure.

I thought about the CS Boar Spear too. There is an army surplus store in my city that has one on display for the longest time. I wonder if they still have it now. But I also don’t want to turn heads…

A friend of mine who has been there has assured me that at least some of the guides will be slower than us. I was glad to hear that… :) :D

Part of my first aid kit includes a small bottle of potion a Chinese Herbal Doctor friend of mine made for me. It’s Arrack (distilled sugar cane) based potion with a bunch of herbal stuff in it. It is to be applied to wounds or burns to avoid infections. I didn’t believe it at first but I have seen it worked many times before so I always have it in my kit. Interestingly enough, he said one of the ingredients is fat products from giant monitors (which is the cousin of the Komodo Dragons). Perhaps their fat contains substances that can prevent them from getting infected by their own bacteria in their mouth. Anyway, this Arrack potion has worked well in preventing infections in various kinds of wounds… :thumbup:
 
T-BAG said:
The article states that those dragons can kill a full grown water buffalo...That's hard to believe..Iv'e seen a water buffalo kick a full grown lions ass before....They must be very deadly if this is true.
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The story is true.

The Water Buffalo is no slouch, but it is not Cape Buffalo.
 
Dahsyat, the picture of the child and his bath-buddy (a python, right?) -- is that for real? Is the snake alive? Is the kid still alive?
 
Personally as an adult I highly doubt one has need to fear a lizard; there's a mighty big diffference between an 8 year old boy and a man.

Secondly, if air travel is involved I suspect an FBM or similarly sized knife in your checked bagage is gonna garner some unwanted attention from the TSA (unless you are smart and disguise it among some diving gear as a diving knife or use a CIA letter opener type polymer knife strategically stashed)

Thirdly, if getting there by ship it's my understanding that Homeland Security or the TSA has revamped what ya can take on a ship; so the above info appies here too.

My advice, given I see women wrestling alligators around quite frequently leave the lizard to your wife, hopefully she is not quite so paranoid and will probably just snap a few kodak moments of one and make jokes to your neighbors about how scared her hubby was of a lizard.:D

mike

ps - IIRC they are protected and on the IUCN red list so using a knife on one in any manner is gonna probably play havoc with your vacation (and I'd hate to see the inside of a jail there....;) )
 
mr_wilson said:
Personally as an adult I highly doubt one has need to fear a lizard; there's a mighty big diffference between an 8 year old boy and a man.
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This lizard is the reptile equivalent of a Kodiak bear. They're big, fast, strong, and don't take prisoners. There is a difference between an adult human and a human child, but not enough of one to make an appreciable difference once it's got you.
 
How about a white Phospherus grenade?You'd deter the lizzards and have a hot meal afterwards.:P
A sharp eye and a good spear and an even better blade would be your best defence.Good luck.
 
Personally as an adult I highly doubt one has need to fear a lizard; there's a mighty big diffference between an 8 year old boy and a man.
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These are lizards , more or less.
Saltwater_crocodile_1_440.jpg

American%20Alligator%20(Alligator%20mississipiensis)0002.jpg

american-crocodile-emerging-water.jpg

dragon.jpg

KingCobra.jpg

python-photos.jpg


Fear as in girlyman fear is one thing , fear as in respect is another , any one of the above creatures could either , kill you in an instant , crush you to death, maul you or tear you to bite sized pieces.
If you are telling me you would not run like mad from an adult Salt Water Croc , you are either telling a rather big fib , or you're loony tunes. ;)

All the suggestions of long sticks with pointy object on the end are spot on.
Otherwise I would forget about any close combat with a Komodo ( I'd put my $$ on the 'lizard'). :)
 
The Komodo does not fight you to the death...his hunting strategy is to merely nick you . His mouth contains powerful poisons (multiple) that mean you are bought and paid for with one small bite . These poisons take some time to work so he takes his time tracking you down . While he can eat just about anything , he can easily bring down large quadrapeds .
There is a main island in the Indonesian Archipelago where he's found , but he can also be found on many islands in the group .
His breeding skills have been the subject of a recent mind-boggling science report . (The ability to change gender has been authenticated )
 
I have kept many monitors over the years. Not Komodos mind you but they are all similiar in behavior. Komodos can swim very well. They can dive also. I think you would be fine underwater though as you would be to large a prey item underwater for them to tackle. On land however they have a different approach. Thier saliva is chock full of some of the most deadly bacteria on the planet. It is so bad as to be likened to venom. For large prey items such as deer they bite, tear off some flesh and essentially let the animal go. It will die from the infection shortly and perhaps they will come across it later to enjoy. FWIW a knife will do you no good. The Komodo can move faster than you in short bursts. If I had to chose an edged weapon I would want a tomahawk with a long handle. I'm sure you will be fine.
 
more important then the types of weapons to take along is take enough people along so you can sleep in shifts.
 
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