Komodo dragon bites tourist in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An Indonesian national park official says a Komodo dragon has bitten an overly inquisitive tourist who ignored warnings about getting too close to the enormous reptile while it was eating. 

Chief of the Komodo National Park, Sudiyono, says the tourist from Singapore was bitten on his leg Wednesday morning while taking pictures of the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. 

Sudiyono says the man was rescued by locals and rushed to a hospital in Labuan Bajo on Komodo Island for treatment.

Endangered Komodo dragons are found in the wild on several eastern Indonesian islands. They can grow to 10 feet or more in length.

Attacks on humans are rare but may increase as Indonesia is promoting the Komodo National Park as a tourist destination. Komodo dragons "will eat almost anything, including carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons and even large water buffalo and humans," according to National Geographic. 

In 2013, a guide and a park ranger were attacked in separate incidents. Another deadly attack was reported in 2009 when two Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia.

Experts say the Komodo dragon population in the wild is less than 4,000 but stable.