Blind salamanders that are also known as Olms are considered to be "baby dragons" that are native to Slovenia, as many scientists and tourists await this extremely rare birth of olms.
In a cave in Postojna, Slovenia, a mother olm is fiercely guarding her precious eggs as tourists try to take a glimpse of the "Dragon Mother" along with her 55 eggs that can take four months more before the eggs will hatch or not.
Olms can be described as small creatures, possessing snake like bodies. They also lay eggs only once for every 10 years, where many await this rare phenomenon for these dragon eggs to hatch. When an olm egg successfully hatches, this brand new "baby dragon" is destined to live for a long time, possibly even up to 100 years.
In Slovenia, the Postojna Cave has already become a famous tourist spot. A tour guide recently noticed last January 30 one lone olm egg inside the cave, and now it is estimated to be home to 55 eggs. A hatching vigil of sorts became another feature in this cave, as many await the arrival of the baby dragons.
According to biologist Lilijana Bizjak Mali of Ljubljana's Biotechnical Faculty, we saw what we are waiting for a long time, which is the olms' embryonic development with visible cell division. Simply put, the little dragons are now growing.
The team of scientists also hold a live coverage complete with updates of the Postojna Cave aquarium for visitors to get a daily status of the Dragon Mother and her eggs. Many visitors are now curious about the development of the eggs, asking when the little dragons will arrive.
However, there is a threat to these eggs, as other cave creatures have also shown their interest on these olm eggs, especially smaller crustaceans and cave amphipods. Apparently, these cave critters also consider these baby dragon eggs a special delicacy.
Even if the Dragon Mother is blind, the olm mother of the eggs protects her babies by showing a ferocious maternal instinct, where scientists say she has been successful so far in warding off potential predators.
For the olm eggs to hatch, the ideal water temperatures should be 11 degrees Celsius, requiring 120 days of incubation period. However, waters inside the cave is two degrees colder, which means that the eggs require a longer period before hatching.
Biologists also made a safe haven for the Dragon Mother and her eggs, however the team is quite unsure how many will hatch, as previous records show that only three eggs can survive. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also classifies olms under "vulnerable" species, that's why scientists have been monitoring this olm family inside the cave.