Despite having “dragon” right in their name, Komodo dragons don’t, as first glance, appear to be extremely dangerous. However, as anyone who has ever played the video game Far Cry 3 could tell you, the large lizards can be quite dangerous and have poisonous, infectious bites.
This week, AFP is reporting that an 83-year-old woman on the Indonesian island of Rinca was attacked by a Komodo while sitting outside her house. The lizard reportedly bit her right hand and wrist as she was making a broom from a coconut tree. She screamed for help and kicked the Komodo, which then released her.
According to the AFP, the woman needed 35 stitched to close the wound on her arm. Though her hand was paralyzed after the incident, some movement has returned. Her wish is for the hand to heal so she can continue making brooms.
This is the latest in a series of recent Komodo dragon attacks that have hit Rinca Island. In February two Komodo National Park officers were hospitalized after a Komodo dragon infiltrated the park office and attacked them. In October 2012, another older woman on Rinca was attacked as she prepared fodder for her livestock.
(Image courtesy Spencer Weart/Wikimedia Commons)