A Few Words on Dragon's part 2

Hi dear friends and followers today we return to the second part on, a few words on dragons, associated with the strange deaths occurrences of domestic animals.  Enjoy the read. 

A Few Words on Dragon's part 2

In the early 1980s something began to kill sheep in a very odd way in north Wales. The animals were found with two puncture marks in the flesh. They were always found close to water. Veterinary analysis showed that they had been killed by venom. Sometimes a large snakelike trail was seen in the grass or mud close to the victims. Strangely the killer never ate the sheep. The weird killings stopped as suddenly as they started leaving only an unsettling mystery.

There have been many theories proffered to explain the dragon phenomena. They fall mainly into two camps. One is that dragons are based on some kind of flesh and blood creature, a gigantic reptile of some kind. The second is that they are a paranormal manifestation.

Let us examine the former idea first. It has been widely suggested that fossil remains of dinosaurs and other large animals were the basis for dragon legends. Whilst they may have been an influence in some cases, most fossil bones are too fragmentary to give rise to such awe-inspiring legends. We must also remember that many ancient texts specifically speak of dragons as living entities interacting with humans.

There are some living reptiles that make impressive dragons. Crocodiles can be huge and deadly predators. The largest, the Indo-Pacific crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) can reach 10 meters (33 feet) in length and tip the scales at 3 tons. It can kill water buffalo, tigers, and even sharks. The ancient Chinese called the creature the "flood dragon"

In the 1950s James Montgomery investigated tales of a huge monster along the Sagama River. The local Seluka people said it was the father of the devil and threw silver coins into the water whenever it appeared (bringing to mind the treasure hordes of medieval dragons in

Europe).
He found the brute sunning itself upon a sandbank; it was a gigantic Indo-Pacific crocodile. Montgomery knew his rifle would be about as much use against such a creature as a peashooter and beat a hasty retreat. He later returned and measured the sandbank. It was nine meters (30 feet) long. As the crocodile had the end of its tail in the water its total length would have been around 10 meters (33 feet).

Another giant lurks in the waters of the Lumpar River. A known serial man-eater it is venerated by the Ibad tribe as Bujang-senang, the king of crocodiles. It is reckoned to be seven and a half meters (25 feet) long.

The African Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) can exceed 7 meters (23 feet) and can kill a lion with one bite. It was worshiped by the Egyptians as Sebek, the god of the life-giving Nile. A seven-meter specimen is currently at large in Malawi and has eaten 14 people in the last 12 months prior to this writing!

These armor-plated giants can bite down with a force of 10,000 Newtons. That's twice the strength of a great white shark!

Big constricting snakes make good analogues of the limbless "worm" type of dragon. The reticulated python (Python reticuatlus) of SE Asia can grow to ten meters (33 feet) and swallow animals as large as deer whole.

The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) may exceed eight meters (26 feet) and is far more bulky than any python. Tales of monstrously large specimens filter out of the South American jungles from time to time.

The infamous komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is found only on three small Indonesian islands. It remained undiscovered until 1912. At over three meters (10 feet) it is the largest known lizard in the world. It kills large prey such as deer by the virulent bacteria in its saliva. Chinese pottery found on Komodo Island suggests this animal was known to seafarers from the orient.

Impressive though it is, the Komodo dragon looked like a pipsqueak compared to its pre-historic relative, Megalania prisca. This giant monitor lizard lived in Australia in the Pleistocene epoch and reached nine meters (30 feet). It evolved to feed on the giant ice age marsupials such as Diprotodon, a rhino-sized wombat, and Procoptodon a ten-foot tall kangaroo.

It was presumed that Megalania died out at least 10,000 years ago but the Aborigines have legends of Mungoongalli, a giant lizard. Both natives and white settlers have recorded encounters with titanic lizards in the Australian outback. Even a herpetologist (reptile expert) has claimed to have seen such a monster.

In 1979 herpetologist Frank Gorden was hunting for small lizards called water skinks in the Wataigan Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. After a fruitless day's search he returned to his land rover. He noticed a fallen tree on a verge next to his vehicle. Upon starting the engine Gorden saw this " log" rear up on four powerful legs and lumber away into the bush. It was a giant lizard some 9 meters (30 feet) long! Gorden is but one of many witnesses who have reported such reptiles in the Australian bush. Some even speculate that mysterious disappearances in the outback can be blamed on the feeding activities of the lizards.

Recently part of a Megalania hipbone was uncovered that was sub-fossil. It appears to be only one to two hundred years old! Is this nightmarish beast still stalking the bush?

Thank you for visiting my blog and for reading this recap on , I hope everyone found the second part to this article  on the search of dragons as interest to explore as I did. Comments are welcomed and appreciated.

✿ڰۣ❤ With love from The Fairy Lady ❤ڰۣ✿