Just when you thought the modern human was an apex predator, in comes the Komodo dragon.
A carnivorous reptile. Sometimes weighing in over 300 pounds and measuring 10 feet long.
With a massively strong muscular tail used both for protection and bringing down prey, and a forked tongue used to detect the smell and taste of warm-blooded animals, this beast is ready to end you.
They eat almost anything. Sometimes they hunt. Sometimes they scavenge. Deer. Pigs. Dead animals. Younger Komodo dragons. And you.
Komodos are patient. They hide in the bushes or tall grasses, camouflaging to their surroundings. When a victim is nearby, they pounce. They ambush. Powerful legs overtaking. Sharp claws ripping. Jagged teeth sinking.
With a metabolism similar to mammals---not reptiles---they burst at explosive speed to get a nibble of deliciously-flavored you.
Okay. You’re fast. You’re a runner. You were bitten, yet miraculously escaped.
But you won’t make it far.
Their bites are venomous. Saliva packed with millions of deadly bacteria from the scavenged, rotting flesh they ate before you. Infecting your bloodstream from those deep wounds inflicted earlier.
Within 24 hours, you’ll be dead…or nearly dead.
And your friend---who has calmly tracked you for miles---will be there, ready to consume you in a single feeding.
Komodos come armored. They form thousands of tiny bone deposits under the skin as they age---not for protection from your weak weapons---from bigger, older Komodo dragons.
They’re pros. Have been doing this for millions of years.
If you ever encounter one, let’s hope it’s after a big meal, so you don’t turn into the next one.