Komodo Dragon Rumors in PNG

Lae city, in Papua New Guinea, has Komodo dragon rumors, as stories of a giant lizard are being passed around, along with the rumor of an expatriate offering a bounty on a Komodo dragon that was supposedly smuggled into the country as an egg, raised up, and which got loose to terrorize the countryside. (News source.) (Rumor story here.)

A New Threat to Varanus

Misguided attempts to find a cure for AIDS in Africa has led to the injection of white-throat monitor blood into patients. Besides being dangerous, and useless against AIDS, the practice could cause conservation problems for the species if the treatment becomes widespread. (News source.)