Community Magazine June 2016

Excerpts from Exploring the Wild World of Animals, by Efraim Harari, published by Israel Bookshop Publications. Be sure to check out the newest book in this animals series, Exploring the Wild World of Animals & BIRDS. Now available at all Judaica stores and on Amazon. MarvelsofCreation from aTorahPerspective HARARI NEW The Komodo dragon is an expert hunter, andmost of its initial attacks on its targeted prey are successful. There are times when an animal does escape from the jaws of the Komodo dragon; however, even in this type of scenario, the Komodo dragon will usually catch up with its victim in the end and consume it. The Komodo dragon is known to have about fifty different types of toxic bacteria in its saliva. These bacteria thrive on traces of flesh. When a Komodo dragon bites an animal, the bacteria is transferred from the Komodo dragon’s mouth to its victim, which causes the victim to become quickly infected. In addition to the deadly bacteria that it transfers, the Komodo dragon also has venom glands in its jaws. With all this, the bitten animal usually dies from blood poisoning within twenty-four hours. So, even when a bitten prey is able to run away from the Komodo dragon, it is only a matter of time before it collapses and dies from the infectious bite. The Komodo dragon then uses its delicate sense of smell to locate its victim and finish off the job. In the past, the villagers of Kampung Komodo, in Indonesia, would provide the Komodo dragon with its food, by hanging the remains of deceased goats for them to eat. The Komodo dragons would pounce on the food and devour it in just a few minutes. Over time, though, as the villagers continued with this practice, they noticed a change in the Komodo dragons. The creatures became slower and more lethargic; they seemed to lose their hunting talents. This led to the decision by an environment protection group, called Nature Conservancy, to ban this feeding practice and allow these enormous creatures to do their hunting work by themselves, just as the Almighty intended. One might have thought that a giant, frightening creature such as the Komodo dragon would not be able to change into a more docile animal; that it could never lose its ferocious hunting techniques. As it turned out, however, when the Komodo dragon received its food without effort, its character did change; the vicious creature began acting like a quiet and peaceful lizard. This teaches an important lesson about one’s ability to change. There are people who claim, “I have done so many sins already; I am a lost cause. I will never be able to do teshuvah.” But this couldn’t be further from the truth. No matter how low one has fallen, he can still do teshuvah; he can still change his behavior and have his repentance be accepted by Hashem. Nothing stands in the way of one’s will, especially if one’s will is to sincerely repent. After all, if a beast such as the Komodo dragon can change its ways, how much more so can man. TORAH TALK I’LL BE BACK! Did You Know? The Komodo dragon’s long yellow tongue can detect the scent of prey from up to five miles away! IYAR - SIVAN 5776 JUNE 2016 89