Komodo Dragon Attack: 83-Year-Old Fights Off Massive Lizard with a Broom

If you've ever seen a Komodo dragon, you know that you'd never want to be attacked by one. Yet that's exactly what happened to an 83-year-old Indonesian woman who had to fight off the creature with a broom.

On Tuesday, a six and a half foot Komodo dragon charged and bit the left hand of Haifha outside her home on Rinca island. Thinking quickly, the elderly woman grabbed her broom as she screamed. She then hit the lizard on the nose several times with the makeshift weapon before the creature finally let go of her hand. Haifha's neighbors quickly rushed to the scene after hearing her screams and helped chase the animal away.

The lizard that attacked Haifha wasn't nearly as large as some others. Komodo dragons can grow to be massive, reaching about ten feet in length and weighing more than 300 pounds at their largest. They're the heaviest lizards on Earth with their long, flat heads and rounded snouts. Needless to say, they're also the dominant predators on the islands in Indonesia that they inhabit and will eat anything from carrion to deer to pigs. While hunting, they lie in wait for passing prey and then spring. They bite their victim, using a combination of teeth and claws to bring down their source of food.

Even if a creature escapes a Komodo dragon's jaws, they aren't safe. The lizard's saliva teems with over 50 strains of bacteria, which means that most animals that receive a bite from the reptile die within 24 hours from blood poisoning. The Komodo dragon then feasts on the stricken animal, according to National Geographic.

Fortunately for Haifha, she received the proper medical care. A total of 20 stitches were used to repair her hand.

While komodo dragons are effective predators, though, their numbers are dwindling. A combination of poaching, human encroachment and a dearth of egg-laying females have caused population numbers to plummet and have driven the species to endangered status.