Slovenia Is Saving Its ‘Baby Dragons’

Olms, a type of aquatic salamanders found in a Slovenian cave, amaze scientists due to unique biological features. However, due to pollution and attention of collectors, olms, also known as ‘baby dragons’, have been on brink of disappearing.

Olms spend their lives in total darkness in the Postojna cavern complex. They can grow to up to a foot in length, making them the world’s largest cave-dwelling animals. And they can live up to a century, though they usually breed only once every six or seven years. They can survive without food for up to 10 years.

A team of biologists established a breeding colony in Postojna cave to boost the natural reproduction process of olms. With Slovenia’s renewed efforts to save this species, there is now hope for these peculiar creatures.

“We now have 21 baby olms flourishing in our trays,” said Primoz Gnezda, a biologist working in Postojna Cave to increase the fragile olm population. “For the first time we have witnessed the hatching of proteus larvae — and, after one year, they are all healthy. And that gives us hope we can save our olms for the future.”

Olms made it to the naturalist David Attenborough’s list of endangered animals he would most like to save from extinction. 

“The olm lives life in the slow lane which seems to be its secret for living a long life … and perhaps that is a lesson for us all,” says Attenborough.