  Mercy. Compassion. Empathy. These concepts have no meaning to the Komodo dragons. Even the lizards' own young run in fear at the approach of a mature dragon, taking to the high branches and rolling in excrement to avoid being devoured. The dragons also feast on pigs, deer, snakes, monkeys and the occasional human. They seek out fresh kills and rotten cadavers alike. As seen in Life, they sometimes dare to take down even greater prey: the deadly water buffalo. What transpires in the documentary is, for many viewers, a shocking account of predation. What was going through the minds of the three species involved?
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Watch "Komodo Dragons Hunt Buffalo"
THE KOMODO DRAGON: EATING ALL, FEARING NOTHING
Komodo dragons live on only a handful of Indonesian islands, where they thrive at the very pinnacle of the food chain. Yet their strategy is very different from that of other top predators, such as the tiger or the wolf.
As cold-blooded reptiles, Komodo dragons lack the energy reserves for lengthy pursuits or drag-out fights. Instead, they rely on camouflage and patience, waiting in ambush for just the right moment to strike. With a mouth full of serrated teeth, deadly venom and more than 50 strains of bacteria, all they need to do is land one good bite.
That's a good advantage to have when taking on a fast, powerful animal such as a water buffalo.
"That first bite is actually quite a dangerous move," said
Life cameraman Kevin Flay, who spent nine weeks filming the animals, "so I think the dragons have to really be in the right frame of mind — very hungry, very aggressive — to actually do it."
Although the dragons were clearly hungry enough to stake out the buffalo, it was days before the filmmakers saw any real aggression. Finally, one of the giant lizards dared put itself in harm's way.
"[The dragon] was only about 6 foot long, but he was obviously a lot hungrier than the others," Flay said. "He was willing to take that risk, and you could see that just by his energy level and the way he was walking."
With their prey injured, the assembled predators had to wait the animal out while the poisonous bite did its work — a grueling, three-week ordeal. When the animal finally collapsed, the largest of the dragons sprang into action.
"There were lots of smaller dragons hanging around on the edge, but these big males were the ones doing their feeding first," Flay said. "After they filled up, the smaller ones came in, but the larger dragons really did serve themselves up. I remember seeing one walking away with his belly dragging on the ground. They just gorged themselves to the point where they could barely walk."
All in all, the dragons reduced the water buffalo to bones in a mere four hours. Then they waddled back to their burrows to sleep off the fruits of a long and patient investment.
Continue: The Crew: Filming the Komodo Death Watch
