Bacteria aren't the only source of Komodo bite danger

Dr Mabuse said:
Some of the most interesting research in medicine is being done with venom.

Another example is: the venom of the Heloderma Suspectum has the ability to cure diabetes if we can ever understand how it works. Research on that has been going on for years.

Another: the Conus Geographus has venom that contains the strongest painkiller known to man. Work is being done on that.

I assume you didn't know about venom research? If not that's a nice bit of insight on your part Xylene.
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I knew there was research going on with various sorts of venom, but I'm not up with the play--I've no idea which poisons are being worked on.

BTW, regarding the idea of dinosaurs being related to birds, I remember that episode of Red Dwarf where a chicken was reverse-evolved and turned into a tyranosuarus, then ate someone...:eek::D
 
mikenostic said:
What does that have to do with komodos being able to run down a human over short distances?
Speed and endurance are two different things. You being an mtb DHer of all people should know that.
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Well, the way you presented the information made it seem like Komodos were capable of speed burst of over 12mph over short distances (inferring a top speed not much higher than that). Humans can run much faster than that over short distances, and are actually capable of sustaining speeds of 12mph for hours (top marathon runners, while not statistically significant keep that pace over an entire 26 mile marathon).

Do we know what the top speed of of a Komodo is?

*edit, I'm genuinely curious, I'm not disputing that they can run down a human under the right conditions.
 
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CharonZ said:
I was under the assumption that the 12 mph was their top speed. In a burst that is.
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It's actually closer to 18 mph. Whatever it is, they can run down a human within a short range. They can also climb trees and swim...well.
 
They are ambush hunters, primarily. According to wikipedia, the top speed is closer to 12 mph, so in an open stretch I'd bet on human every time, provided the human knew it was there the whole time (obviously ambush hunters have an advantage).

They can swim well, for sure, but I was under the impression that they could not climb trees as adults due to their size. They spend most of their youth in trees, but once they reach adulthood they are stuck to the ground.
 
Idle Mind said:
They are ambush hunters, primarily. According to wikipedia, the top speed is closer to 12 mph, so in an open stretch I'd bet on human every time, provided the human knew it was there the whole time (obviously ambush hunters have an advantage).

They can swim well, for sure, but I was under the impression that they could not climb trees as adults due to their size. They spend most of their youth in trees, but once they reach adulthood they are stuck to the ground.
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15mph
http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Komodo_Dragon.asp

http://lasauniversity.tripod.com/komodofaith.htm

18mph
http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=472075

brief sprint of 20mph
http://britishexpats.com/blogs/KOMODO/

http://www.scienceray.com/Biology/Zoology/The-Importance-of-Komodo-Dragons.149923

http://whozoo.org/students/amabau/komodo_dragon.htm

No speed listed here..
http://everything2.com/title/komodo%20dragon
But it does say this...
A Komodo Dragon can run faster than many humans over short distances
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Soooo, most humans have a top speed of > 12mph?

http://wizbangpop.com/2009/05/20/komodo-dragon-starring-in-nightmares-everywhere.php
A full-grown adult Komodo dragon can run as fast as a dog and swim faster than a human.
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