The bite may not have caused any serious harm, but an Omaha zookeeper was hospitalized on Sunday after she was bitten by a juvenile Komodo dragon, The New York Times reported.
The incident took place at approximately 12:30 p.m. when the female zookeeper was cleaning a cage that contained two young Komodo dragons in the Desert Dome exhibit of the Henry Doorly Zoo, according to Omaha-World Herald.
She was later admitted to the hospital and discharged a few hours after. Initial reports claimed that the worker was critically injured in the incident. The zoo released a statement saying that earlier media reports were incorrect and that the zookeeper is expected to make a full recovery.
According to the assistant general curator of the zoo, Stephanie Huettner, the injury was not severe and the zookeeper required nothing more than a few stitches to close up the wound on her hand.
The young female Komodo dragon is about 4 feet long and weighs approximately 10 pounds. The zoo currently has one adult Komodo dragon and two juveniles on display, NBC-Nebraska reported.
Adult Komodo dragons can weigh over 300 pounds, and can grow as long as 10 feet. The predators are also capable of reaching speeds of 11mph in short bursts, according to National Geographic.
The Henry Doorly Zoo is a highly-regarded attraction with nearly 1.7 million visitors each year and has been ranked No.1 in the world on the travel website TripAdvisor.
