Modern Dragons
Komodo dragon {kum-moh'-doh}
The largest living lizard, the Komodo dragon, live only in the
vicinity of the Indonesia, for example, on Komodo island, for which
they are named, and on two other tiny island in the Lesser Sundas
group of Southeast Asia, the Komodo dragon is the world's largest
living lizard, occasionally exceeding 10 feet (3 m) in length. Komodo
dragons are carnivorous, feeding on animals as large as small deer and
bush pigs. Their long, sharps claws enable them to disembowel large
animals, and their jagged teeth aid them in tearing pieces from their
prey. Komodo dragons, like other large monitors, can be formidable
adversaries, even for humans, if these lizards are actually cornered.
Komodo dragons swim well, sometimes swimming to small isles a half
kilometer from shore to prey on domestic goats.
Surprisingly, this colossal creature remain unknown to science until
as recently as 1912, but the natives of the region were well award of
its existence and also its prowess as a man-killer. Heightening its
dragonesque appearance is its bright yellow tongue, flickering out of
its mouth in faithful facsimile of its mythical, fire-spiting
namesakes.
These reptiles are endangered and are under strict protection by the
Indonesian government.
La Presse, Montreal, Saturday, August 23, 1997. In section G-13.
Article available via E-Mail only
The Winged Serpents of Wales
As recently as the mid-1800s, flying snakes of amazing beauty, with
ornate feather wings, were believed to inhabit Glamorgan in Wales.
According to one old man who lived at Penllyne in Glamorgan and died
early in the twentieth century, the woods around Penllyne Castle
contained many of these extraordinary creatures when he was a boy.
They were said to be brilliant in colour, as if spangled with
sparkling gemstones, and, like the peacock's train, their wings often
bore eyes; some also had rainbow-hued crests.
Yet despite their exquisite appearance, the winged serpents were
slaughtered by the local people as if they were merely vermin because
they preyed upon the farmer poultry. Indeed, the old's man father and
uncle has killed several when he was a youngster. Now, they were
apparently extinct. Flying serpents were also reported at Penmark
Place, where one elderly woman claimed that there had even been a
"king" and "queen" of these winged wonders.
If such serpents really did exist, what could they have been? Millions
of year ago, Britain was home of Kuehneosaurus, and elongate
lizardlike beast, whose ribs were extended to for a pair of membranous
winglike structures that may have enabled it to glide through the air.
Today, a similar creature still exist in the humid jungles of
Southeast Asia, and is aptly knows as draco volans, or "flying
dragon". It is not native in Europe, however, and even if some had
escaped from captivity into woodlands of Wales, they would not have
survived in its climate.
It has been suggested that brightly colored serpents with feathered
wings spied in the Vale of Edeyrnion in 1812 may have been cock
pheasants, which were unfamiliar there. But this theory does not
explain the serpents' liking for poultry, and it is not likely that a
pheasant could be mistaken for a flying snake.
There might once have been proof of their existence, for the Penmark
woman stated that her grandfather had killed one of these beasts and
kept its feathered skin until, after he died, his relatives discarded
it. If they had been eager to do so, science may have been unable to
unveil the identity of Wales's winged serpents.
Dragons of Future
We need not mourn morosely the dragons of the past, nor need we look
with disappointed eyes on their zoologically uninspiring namesakes of
the present.
For there are still bona fide, corporeal dragons, such as the
long-neck, sea lizard, serpent whale, artrellia, inkhomi, tatzelworm
and others of their cryptic kind to torment and tantalize the staid
world of traditional zoology. And these creatures of controversy
offers good reason indeed for believing that the future still holds
many great surprises and joys in store for the dedicated
dracontologist.
Similarly, far from diminishing in appeal as an irrelevant anachronism
with the rapid approach of the ultra-scientific twenty-first century,
the image of the dragon is experiencing a profound upsurge in
international popularity that no human superstar could ever emulate.
Today it is stunningly evoked and harnessed by modern technology for
every conceivable purpose, including cinema, the toy and fashion
industries, CD-ROM and promotional publicity campaigns of breathtaking
artistic splendor.
It seems certain, therefore, (St. George notwithstanding) that the
dragon -the embodiment of dynamic, uncompromising, irresistible power-
will continue to evolve, diversify and populate our planet for a long
time to come.
Lil Stinker
"just havin' fun!"
|
|