ThePostojna Cavein Slovenia , a karst cave formed from drop of water eroding rock over millions of years , has been harboring a mystery since 2016 . hide away in a subterranean lab , a team of scientists on site has been raising a clutch of “ babe dragons ” and now , four years since the first hatched , three are going to go on video display for the reality to see .
The precious dragons are actually olm , ancient aquatic salamanders that cover once a decade and can live to be 100 years honest-to-god . They were first draw in 1689 by naturalist Valvasor who wrote in his bookGlory of the Duchy of Carniolathat , after big rains , Proteus anguinus would wash out up from underground pee system and were conceive by locals to be dragons ' offspring swept out from the cave .
These ghostly fauna are implausibly rarified but in 2016 an Proteus anguinus at the cave lay around 60 testicle in an observation tank , offering cave authority a rare chance to protect and analyze them . Of the 21 eggs which live , three of these will star in an observation tank open to visitors at the Postojna cave . As very wanted resident physician , cave bureau continue the olms out of ken in their laboratory , but soon a modified figure of 30 visitors will be permitted to visit the baby flying lizard each day as the cave opens its doors to the public .
small is recognize of Proteus anguinus breeding in the wild but statistical data point indicates that out of the hundreds of eggs put down in a female person ’s lifetime , only two grasp adulthood . The squad at Postojna was therefore apprehensive as to how their modest clasp would fare . " It was very moving , but also dire , because we have a go at it all along that somethinguniquewas happening and that it was up to us how everything would move around out in the destruction . We had a huge responsibility as the very things started pass for us that Postojna Cave had been hoping for for centuries , " said Katja Dolenc Batagelj , who is in charge of the cave ’s science laboratory , in astatement .
As exclusively cave - dwelling house animals , olm are blind , svelte , and near - translucent in appearance . They slowly spring up peg as they develop . There ’s a very adorable video on the cave lab ’s internet site showing the majestic moment one of the olms named Victorsprouted a new branch . They are a protect specie found mostly in Balkan cave river and are believe to have been residents in Postojna cave for millions of year .
The Postojna Cave had been closed to visitor for three month due to the Covid-19 pandemic , and the baby dragons ’ debut is a fitting celebration for the reopening of this magnificent land site of natural beauty .
