Stoopid
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LA Times
At Zoo It's Crunching Dragon, Injured Editor
Attack: The visiting San Franciscan got to see a Komodo dragon up close as
a gift. The bite required surgery, but he finds a way to joke about it.
By TWILA DECKER, Times Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein will always have
his big toe to remind him of his brush with a Komodo dragon at the Los
Angeles Zoo. But just barely.
Bronstein, the husband of actress Sharon Stone, has always been fascinated
with the Indonesian reptile, considered the world's largest lizard, and
wanted to see one up close.
So as a pre-Father's Day surprise Saturday, Stone arranged for Bronstein to
have a private audience with the tamer of two Komodo dragons on display at
the Los Angeles Zoo.
But when the newspaper editor entered the cage with one 7-foot-long,
55-pound lizard, the animal pounced on Bronstein's feet, crushing his big
toe and severing several tendons with its jaws.
Bronstein, who escaped after crawling through a tiny door, was rushed to
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he underwent foot surgery. He is
expected to be released today.
"He's in good spirits," said Joe Brown, a spokesman for the Chronicle.
"He's joking around about it. He says he realizes he's pretty much fated
not to have a boring life."
Bronstein was attacked about noon during a private tour arranged by his
wife. Before Bronstein entered the cage, the zookeeper had him remove his
white tennis shoes to keep the reptile from mistaking them for the white
rats it is fed.
But the lizard ran after Bronstein's bare feet anyway while Stone watched
from outside the cage.
Bronstein was able to pry open the reptile's mouth and escape through a
small door in the cage while the zookeeper distracted the dragon.
Zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said she did not believe any zoo spectators,
besides Stone, saw the attack.
"It all happened very quickly," she said.
LaMarca said the zoo often arranges private, behind-the-scene tours for
donors and celebrities. Some are allowed to enter the cages.
But LaMarca said the zoo does not permit people to get close to animals it
suspects might be dangerous, such as tigers.
The two Komodo dragons on display at the zoo are both male and are housed
in separate cages. The dragon that Bronstein was allowed to visit is not
usually aggressive, LaMarca said.
"He has been very, very tame in the past. Our zookeeper has gone in with
him several times," she said.
Stone's publicist said the couple does not blame the zoo for the attack.
She also said that Bronstein is expected to make a full recovery. The
couple adopted an infant boy about a year ago.
The two Komodo dragons moved into the zoo three years ago after being
confiscated from people who were trying to smuggle them into the country
from the animals' homeland, the Komodo Islands, LaMarca said.
She said the endangered lizards, which are extremely valuable on the black
market, have been a popular exhibit at the zoo. The zoo is building a new
habitat for the animals, which can grow to 12 feet.
They are not venomous; however, they are considered poisonous because
several strains of septic bacteria are found in their teeth and saliva.
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Now, what zoo could possibly allow an idiot to do this??????????????
What a moron! Too bad he doesn't qualify for a Darwin Award.
