Olms are explicitly blind salamanders, and just in time for "Game of Thrones" Season 6 premiere, scientists and tourists in Slovenia are eagerly awaiting the rare birth of olms or "baby dragons."
A mother olm has been guarding her eggs fiercely at a cave in Postojna, Slovenia. Tourists are welcome to catch a glimpse of the "Dragon Mom" and her 55 olm eggs but it would take four more months to see if the eggs will hatch or not.
Olms are small and have snake-like bodies. They lay eggs just one every 10 years, which makes a hatching a rare phenomenon to watch. If an olm egg successfully hatches, the new "baby dragon" can live for up to a century.
The Postojna Cave is already a popular tourist site in Slovenia. Last Jan. 30, a tour guide noticed a just single olm egg; however, the cave now holds 55 tiny olm eggs. Since then, the hatching vigil has become another feature to see in the Postojna Cave.
"[We saw] what we had waited and hoped for all along - the olms' embryonic development with visible cell division. To put it simply: it looks like the little 'dragons' are growing," said biologist Lilijana Bizjak Mali from Ljubljana's Biotechnical Faculty who visited the site.
The team has put up a live coverage of from the Postojna Cave aquarium so visitors can see the daily status of the "Dragon Mom" and her eggs. Many visitors have shown interest and have continually asked when the "little dragons" will arrive and how many they will be.
Unfortunately, other cave creatures have also shown interest in the olm eggs, particularly small crustaceans and cave amphipods. These cave creatures consider olm eggs special delicacies.
The threat has also shown how ferocious a maternal instinct can be. Despite her blindness, the "Dragon Mom" has been successful in keeping the predators at bay, so far.
In a water temperature of about 11 degrees Celsius, an olm egg requires 120 days to develop. However, in caves that are 2 degrees Celsius colder, the eggs need longer time to hatch.
The olm mother is also getting help from a team of biologists. A safe haven has been created for them; however, the team is unsure how many of the 55 olm eggs will successfully hatch. Early estimates suggest only three will make it.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Of Threatened Species, the olm or baby dragon is considered "vulnerable." Therefore, scientists are carefully monitoring the eggs' development in the Postojna Cave.
