Deep inside a remote Slovenian cave lie more than 57 eerie white eggs. If they survive their 120-day development cycle, from them could hatch the first “baby dragon” births outsiders have ever seen.
Wait, did we mention that the contents of these eggs aren’t real dragons? That’s just the name given them by creative Slovenians. They first saw the pale slithery creatures in the 1600s.
"People had never seen it and didn't know what it was," says biologist Saso Weldt. Weldt works at the cave where the “baby dragon” eggs are. "During the winter time, clouds of fog often rose from the cave, so they came up with stories of a dragon breathing fire."
Scientists soon realized these creatures wouldn’t grow up to be fire-breathers. But the dragon nickname stuck.
The creatures emerging from the cave’s gelatinous eggs will be olms. But for scientists and enthusiastic Slovenians, the birth of these aquatic creatures is nearly as exciting.
Olms live only in Southeastern Europe. They make their homes in underground rivers far beneath the Dinaric Alps. Olms are blind salamanders. They have eyes, but their white skin covers them. They have strong senses of hearing, smell, and touch.
What they lack in sight and color, olms make up for in endurance. These gilled salamanders can live 100 years or more. They can survive without food for as long as 10 years.
Female olms reproduce once every six to seven years. So far, olm births have been seen only in labs. Now for the first time, the public may be able to view olms hatching at Postojna Cave. Scientists have turned part of the cave into a vivarium, a type of animal aquarium.
Postojna Cave is also home to the blind cave beetle. It and the olm have made the cave a Slovenian tourist destination, where people can view these rare creatures in their natural habitat.
In January, a Postojna tour guide noticed a new olm egg clinging to the side of a tank in the cave. Eggs have been found in the cave before. But predators ate them before any olms could be born.
"This time, we've removed all the other olms to make sure [the eggs] don't get eaten again," Weldt says. "We're hopeful for a successful birth."
Scientists at Postojna Cave set up infrared cameras. If all goes well, they will photograph the birth of a dragon.
