Two Komodo National Park employees are being treated in hospital after they were attacked and bitten by a Komodo dragon in Indonesia.
A komodo dragon chews on a chicken at Jakarta Zoo in this file photo. The lizards have been known to attack humans (Photo: Bagus Indahono/EPA)
Forest police officer Ahmad Main was attacked by the two-metre lizard as he sat alone in an office at the national park on Rinca Island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The 50-year-old jumped on a chair to shout for help, but the lizard grabbed his leg, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe.
Usman Li, a 35-year-old park employee, heard Ahmad's screams and ran to his aid. He pulled the lizard off Mr Ahmad, receiving a bite to his left leg from the lizard in the process.
Several park officers then chased the lizard away.
Mr Ahmad, who was once bitten by a crocodile in 2009, received 41 stitches for wounds to his legs and Mr Usman received 42 stitches.
Sustyo Iryono, head of the national park, told Indonesian language site Suara Pembaran that Komodo dragons were sensitive to movement and sounds.
He said the park employees required intensive treatment and were taken to Sanglah Hospital in Bali.
Komodo dragons are the largest species of lizard and can be found on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar.
The lizards can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 150 kilogrammes.
Komodo dragons have a wide-ranging diet, including birds, goats, monkeys and water buffalo, and have been known to occasionally attack and eat humans.