Hours later, after getting two stitches on the top of her hand, the female employee was home, according to Stephanie Huettner, assistant general curator at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
The employee was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center because a zoo nurse could not stop the bleeding. Komodo dragons have a substance in their saliva that prevents clotting.
The worker was bitten about 12:30 p.m. while cleaning a cage that contained two young Komodo dragons in the Desert Dome.
The cage is in a room visible to the public but is not in the main exhibits at the Desert Dome, and no visitors were present when the bite occurred, zoo officials said.
The two juvenile dragons are about 4 feet long and weigh about 10 pounds. When mature, Komodo dragons — the largest species of lizard — can grow to 10 feet and weigh 150 pounds.
The Henry Doorly Zoo has a larger male dragon, named Albi, on exhibit at the Cat Complex.
Disease was not a concern, Huettner said. The employee was treated with antibiotics and should make a full recovery.
While Komodo dragons are predators, Huettner described them as typically docile and not interested in humans.
Per zoo policy, the incident will be investigated, officials said.
In 2009, the zoo’s head veterinarian was bitten in the arm by a 200-pound Malaysian tiger.
(Omaha.com - June 1, 2015)
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