The baby dragons of Slovenia - Printable Version

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The baby dragons of Slovenia - Levin - 05-12-2021

John Malathronas, CNN • Published 3rd December 2021





(CNN) — Postojna Cave, situated one hour's drive southwest of Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, is so vast, it has its own railway.

And yet, one of the cave's main attractions is something at the other end of the size spectrum -- and completely unique to Postojna.

Baby dragons!

Postojna is, during normal travel times, one of Europe's most visited underground attractions.

It's been known to locals for centuries and has the graffiti, dated 1213 to prove it. Tourists began arriving in serious numbers after an inaugural 1818 visit by Franz I of Austria, Europe's last Holy Roman Emperor. About 35 million have followed in his wake.

It's easy to see why. The cave is so big that a small train runs for the first two of its 24 kilometer network of subterranean chambers and tunnels.

The train line ends at the massive Congress Hall where the Milan Symphony Orchestra performed back in 1930.

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Olms, or proteus anguinus in Latin, are blind salamanders, about 25 centimeters long, that never develop beyond their juvenile, watery phase.

Locals dubbed them baby dragons because they were washed out of Postojna during floods and, as caves are the abode of dragons, surely these were their babies, right?

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Almost toylike in appearance, they're also sometimes called human fish because -- despite living underwater -- they have pinkish-white, smooth skin instead of scales, and limbs with cartoon-like fingers below their busy red gills.

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olms can live to 100 years and can survive long periods without eating.

"Seven years for sure," she says. "For the first two - three years, no problem. Afterward they start to lose weight, stop moving and simply wait for prey to pass by. Any longer than seven years and some may die, some may survive, depending on the individual's metabolism."

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"Their regeneration power is amazing. If they lose a limb, they regrow it.

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Intriguingly, they're born with eyes which they keep for several years until skin grows over them and renders them blind.

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they're not Postojna's only unusual occupant.

There are cave crickets that eat their own limbs if they can't find any food; poisonous cave millipedes; slenderneck beetles whose wings have atrophied and fused on their abdomen; cave shrimps, the olms' preferred snack; and the obligatory bloodcurdling spider -- since there are no flying insects inside the cave, spiders use their silk to weave cocoons rather than webs.


Better to read the full interesting article here: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/olms-baby-dragons-slovenia-postojna-cave-cmd/index.html

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RE: The baby dragons of Slovenia - Tangsen - 05-12-2021

exBB .. KU KU JIAL ….. 

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RE: The baby dragons of Slovenia - Niubee - 05-12-2021

(05-12-2021, 07:53 PM)Tangsen Wrote:  exBB .. KU KU JIAL ….. 

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